Some Circles Have Sharp Corners
As I looked around the room yesterday during Azmi Shawa’s ‘Celebration of Life,’ I involuntarily took note of all the familiar faces in the crowd. People we’ve known for years and years. People ‘of an age’ – as was Azmi. I couldn’t help but wonder which of us would be attending similar celebrations for the next in line.
And I thought about circles. Congruent and concentric and intersecting circles like I learned about in Plain Geometry with Mr. Patterson in 1950 at San Rafael High School. Circles of friendship and circles of influence, circles of sharing – the circle of life. We encircled one another with our arms – hugs of caring and hugs of shared memories.
Not many hours afterward, Willie Marsh died. This time, though, my thoughts cut right to the chase: “Too young! Too many lives left to touch! Too soon!” Here was a circle that had an unbearably sharp corner. Right now, it seems as though it’s a corner that can never be turned. Perhaps the community’s many hugs will help — hugs for Berta and Marian and for all of Willie’s big family and many friends.
These occasions do give us a time to reflect.