2020-10-28: May Their Memory Be a Blessing                   rak
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Yesterday marks two years since the mass shooting at the Tree of
Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, a few minutes' walk from where I
live. I remember the day and its aftermath like it was
yesterday. The hour where what felt like every police car in
Pittsburgh drove past my apartment, sirens wailing. Where I
listened to the events unfold on the police scanner. Hoping that
my friends were safe and not among the victims. Walking down
Murray to a friend's place around lunch time and seeing families
leaving Saturday morning services, happy and laughing and
oblivious to what had just happened. The collective feeling of
shock and loss and grief. My friends' pain. The informal vigils,
and the organized vigils that were so full that people were
turned away. News crews everywhere. The knit Stars of David that
appeared everywhere in Squirrel Hill. The PSO's concert a month
later in memory of the victims. The tightening in my throat when
I think of that day. Childrens' artwork on the theme of peace
and love along the fence on Wilkins.

Joyce Fienberg, 75
Richard Gottfried, 65
Rose Mallinger, 97
Jerry Rabinowitz, 66
Cecil, 59 & David Rosenthal, 54
Bernice, 84 & Sylvan Simon, 86
Daniel Stein, 71
Melvin Wax, 88
Irving Younger, 69

May their memory be a blessing.