LoudSpeakers

Thanks to all those people who emailed or called asking if we had any relatives who were affected by the attacks in Bombay. I don’t have immediate relatives there, but I have plenty of distributed family members living in the area. None were directly involved in the train bombings, but they will surely be affected by having their city attacked. I am always touched by the level of personal attention we receive on the off chance that someone we know was involved in such horrendous man-made or natural disasters when they occur on the Indian subcontinent.
My disappointment lies with the media. Four times the number of people died in Bombay and hundreds more were injured compared to the attacks in London almost exactly a year ago, but the media attention to the Bombay situation is commensurate to a shark attack in Florida. The same thing happened when Delhi was attacked on Halloween in 2005. Hundreds of thousands of people in Sudan and neigboring states have died in recent years, but very few people seem to care.
Instead, we’re getting a blow-by-blow of the situation of Israel pouncing on Beirut in their quest to wipe Hezbollah off the face of the Earth. Not that the situations are comparable in terms of importance, but we can unequivocally predict the outcome of the latter: hundreds of innocent people will die soon, suicide bombings will continue in the name of martyrdom, and Israel will take an offensive posture in the name of security. Rinse and repeat.

On June 3rd 2004, our family got smaller by losing one member to cancer. Some would have simply referred to Morriss as our pet or dog. Neither of those words would properly justify his relationship to our family. Though he was with us for many years, we still find it difficult when we find his toys and pictures. To this day, a couple his yard toys remain where he left them to weather away over the years hidden under fallen brush.

The worst part about having these “animals with no voices” is to watch them grey and tire. Do the positive moments outweigh the sorrow after losing them?

I have been arguing whether or not it’s appropriate to write about the loss of a family member in my blog. I initially felt rather strange to think of sharing such personal details with the outside world through this outlet. The transparency of blogging allows for readers to see multiple dimensions of the author if he or she is so willing. I never intended for my blog to be focused on specific themes like Technology or Music though I could probably write about those and more all day.
So I choose to share another dimension that exposes the personal detail of our recent loss. I don’t ask for condolences because those have a unique way of being especially awkward even when made in person, but I ask you to consider my grandfather’s selfless actions even in the face of the inevitable.

My grandfather was a great human being and hopefully I can learn a thing or two from him. I would be a better person for doing so. Sadly, he passed away on March 16 in Pondicherry, India.

Even while enduring intense pain towards the end of his life, my grandfather insisted that my family members fetch the necessary consent form required for him to donate his eyes for purposes of corneal grafting. About 1/4 of the total blind population of the world lives in India and there is a severe shortage of donor eyes for corneal transplant. He filled out the form and signed his name in the same bed in which he died.
I was incredibly moved when I heard of his simple act of kindness. To provide someone with the ability to see even when facing his own demise moved me to tears. But it shouldn’t have been a complete surprise considering his modest living and his philosophy of giving to the poor and needy.

Self-examination after hearing of such incredible acts is hard to avoid. I had to ask myself, “What do I worry about?” I think I need to concern myself with the eyesight of my fellow man more than I have.

I lost a close friend yesterday. We lost one of our beloved family members of the canine type on the morning of June 2 to cancer and post-operative complications. For 91 years old, he gave us quite a bit of joy until the end and was as sweet and loving as one could wish. He was multi-lingual, hated cats, detested squirrels, enjoyed basking in the Atlanta sun, frolicked in freshly cut grass, and embroiled himself in numerous power struggles with the one we call The Republic of McCrady.