There is a banner at the top of this page. Inscribed there is an inescapable truth-

 

The world is a tragic place. Life is not for the faint of heart.

 

I have uttered these words countless times and received the full range of responses from solemn acknowledgement to angry retort, but I have never seen those words refuted.

 

Persons who recognize the truth of those words and understand them trend in two directions. One set becomes fearful and seeks to order their lives such that tragedy is avoided as much as is humanly possible. Some of these manage to insulate themselves and still lead productive lives, but many curtail their lives such that one has to wonder what joy there could possibly be for them. The other set decides fear of tragic results shall not rule them and they order their lives to seek the fulfillment of dreams and desires. Some of these go to extremes, taunting fate to come and claim them, but most find that balance between the courage to live without fear and foolish bravado, living lives that embrace the sorrows and reap the joys of life at its fullest.

 

That second group is not immune from heartache. Ask them and they likely could not think of themselves in the terms I have described here, for they understand fear and respect it for what it is. No one, regardless of where they fall between the timid and the bold, encounters tragedy and simply shrugs it off as the mere cost of a life well-lived. Sorrow and heartache find us all, in one manner or another.

 

Mike Hendrix was the first large blogger to encounter and link this site approvingly. We corresponded only briefly over a few weeks in 2003, but I have read his site with interest ever since. His writings are a mixture of politics and real life woven into a fascinating tapestry certain to delight, enrage and touch any who took the time to understand.

 

On Friday, July 20^th Mike’s wife Christiana died in a motorcycle accident while the two of them were enjoying one of their many passions together. There are no words to ease his pain, but words are all we possess. I know which group of people Mike and Christiana belong to, I know their friends are gathering about him in their grief and I know this tragedy will not rob him of the joy that filled their years together. You are a strong man, Mike Hendrix, but this is a time to lean on your friends. My thoughts are with you this day.

 

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis

Posted on July 24th, 2007 by Zsallia
Filed under: Life