Editor's Pick — Roger Paris flashquake "The issue of loss is perhaps the most difficult thing we deal with in life. I've grappled with that issue since the World Trade Center disaster and wondered how to separate the anger of senseless devastation from the truer, deeper feelings. The old man in this story provides a model by creating a ritual that focuses on the memory of those lost and not the barbarism of the event." |
In a small town in upstate New York an old man sits on a bench at a train station. Every day he comes and sits on the same bench at the same time. 3 p.m. sharp. When the train arrives at 3:15 he raises his hands up to cover his ears. A bystander might think that the old man is covering his ears to avoid the loudness of the train. But the number tattoo on the skin of one of the old man's forearms tells a different story. He comes to the station every day to pay homage to the departed. 3:15 p.m. is the time that his entire family boarded the trains to the camps. He raises his hands to his ears to muffle the long ago cries of his loved ones. The old man will continue this ritual until he is reunited with everyone taken from him on that fateful day. |
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