With my Dad having served for several years in the Army, I’ve seen several war memorials and they always evoke strong feelings in me. ‘Lest We Forget’ says the war memorial in the picture below, asking the citizens of Australia to never forget the services and bravery of their soldiers who fought in the World Wars.
But my post is not exactly about soldiers and wars – although, that’s debatable!
Never Forget
For the last two weeks, I’ve been watching on and off two court trials and there were two testimonies that left a deep impression on me.
Jesse Lewis, a Sandy Hook School shooting victim
This was a case against the television and radio show host, Alex Jones by the parents of parents of a little boy killed in the Sandy Hook School shooting. Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, are parents of Jesse Lewis, one of the 20 students killed in this horrific disaster, which Jones claimed was all a hoax!
What struck me about this case was the testimony of Scarlett.
My last morning with Jesse began like so many others; I woke him up with a song and kissed him until he giggled. It was a beautiful, sunny morning but so cold that my car was coated with a layer of frost. Jesse’s father, Neil, arrived to take Jesse to school. We finalized plans to meet at Jesse’s elementary school the next afternoon. When I turned to kiss Jesse goodbye, I saw that he’d written a note to me in the frost on the passenger-side window and door—I Love You. He stood there smiling up at me.
Her last memory of her little boy was his pure and simple gesture of love. She can never forget. Scarlett has gone on to create a movement called Choose Love in honour of her brave and loving, Jesse.
Joaquin Oliver, a Parkland School shooting victim
This trail has several students and teachers giving testimony to convict the shooter. Yesterday, I watched the victim impact testimony of Victoria Gonzalez, the girlfriend of 17 year old, Joaquin Oliver. Calling him her ‘soulmate’ and saying he was ‘love personified’, she spoke of the last time she saw Joaquin. The shooting was on Valentine’s Day. Joaquin waited for Victoria to pick him up for school that day. He was clutching a stuffed elephant and yellow chrysanthemums and they had plans for a movie later that night. One of his last acts was to write her a love letter in the creative writing class he was attending. Sadly, she didn’t ever see the letter. But she will never forget the love!
She and others created a memorial called #ProjectGrowLove to remember those they lost, to honour them and to allow love to grow.
The families and friends of Jesse and Joaquin will never forget the love these two boys radiated. And this love has caused them to move forward, despite their deep loss, to create ways to spread love.
Today, I want to rededicate myself to love and kindness and hope that this will be my legacy.
Please do not forget the folk
whose memory’s on dusty shelves,
those who when this land went woke
we would not rescue from themselves.
Decriminalizing fentanyl
is the cause du jour,
but it doesn’t cure the ill
that puts users in a sewer
of helplessness in their addiction
in a deep long night,
or thanks to duty’s dereliction
merely kills a lot outright,
but it’s policy one can’t ridicule
because, you see, it’s hip and cool.
In 2020, the Centre For Disease Control counted 91,799 accidental drug overdoses in the US, and yet the idiots in government seek to decriminalize drug possession, and reduce or eliminate meaningful penalties for trafficking.
There’s no public outcry, and yet lives, families, and communities are ruined.
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser recently posted..What ‘Terminal’ Feels Like
It’s encouraging that even in the midst of such tragedy love is what we remember. Those little acts of love can definitely have a big impact.
That is so touching. Thanks for writing this. Yes, I am longing also to rededicate myself to love and kindness and hope. And faith.
Wishing you well, Aritha. That’s exactly what I want to do too!
Corinne Rodrigues recently posted..What’s Your Favorite Quality About Yourself?
May I leave a legacy of love and kindness. Thank you for sharing Jesse’s and Joaquim’s stories.
Love can heal, strengthen, motivate and encourage.
I choose LOVE!
This touched me deeply, Corinne.
I prefer to choose love and kindness as my legacy. My community has faced its share of sorrow. The school psychologist at Sandy Hook grew up in our community in the Southern Tier of New York. We’ve had our own mass shooting (April 2009). And, with all that, a member of our community stands accused of the mass shooting earlier this year in Buffalo, New York. We have suffered too much from hate and its products. No one wins from hate. Every one loses.
You handled both stories with dignity and respect. Lovely simply lovely.
FMF #23
This is a beautiful post. Thanks for the reminder that love will help us move forward. Kath, your FMF neighbour at #4 this week.
Beautiful post.
Thanks for sharing.
My heart. Thank you so much for this.
Simply beautifully put – thank you
Just stopped by from FMF #34