What Happens Now? Thoughts About Kobe Bryant and the Others Who Lost Their Lives in the Helicopter Crash

I have never followed basketball, so I am ashamed to say I never heard of Kobe Bryant until Sunday 1-26-2020 when he and his daughter and seven others were killed in a tragic helicopter crash.

I could not help but think of similar tragedies:

Evangelical singer Keith Green and his two young children and the Smalley family died in a plane crash in the early 1980s, John Denver in the late 1990s, and the husband and son of Trish Porter in 2012. Her son's best friend was also killed in that plane crash.

Also, Former Broadmoor Elementary Principal Nancy Saltaman's husband and two sons died in a small plane crash in 1995. Their photo is permanently in the World Arena Ice Hall to remember them.

Debbie Weinstein Minter's pair partner and his father died on their way to the Midwestern Championships in the late 1970s.

Of course, the entire US Figure Skating Team died in a plane crash in 1961.

Something that was supposed to be fun turned in tragedy for all of these people.

I can't but help but think about how everyone associated with Kobe's Bryant's helicopter tragedy will be forever affected.

So many questions are in my head: What will life be like for Bryant's family now? What will life be like for the children who lost their parents on Sunday?

Trish has sent me holiday cards every year, so I know she and her daughter Shannon are okay and doing great, but I thought of her a lot the past few days. I have read Melody Green's books, so I know she went on and is okay.  Debbie went on to have a full life.

Everyone will be okay, but still I am so, so sad. I just had to write this somewhere. I am crying.

Oseh Shalom From Debbie Friedman Live at the Del

I just love this version below of Oseh Shalom by the late Debbie Friedman. Her album Live At the Del is not available online, so I put this song online for everyone to enjoy.

The Jewish prayer for peace is called Oseh Shalom. The lyrics mean: May the one who makes peace in the heavens, make peace for us and all the people Israel.

Note:  I had trouble making this video, so the screen goes black, but the music comes through loud and clear.

 

A Short Review of Netflix's Messiah

A friend posted on Facebook that he had watched the entire Netflix series Messiah and that intrigued me, so I decided just a few days ago to watch it.  I ended up watching one episode the first night and six episodes the next day (binge watching)!!!

The series, in my opinion, is very good.  It's just a story and a television show, but it shows what it might be like today if a messiah, or person with messiah-like qualities, came to earth.  I got a kick out of the cell phones taking photos of this messiah walking on water in front of the Lincoln Memorial!  I also thought it was quite amusing to watch a caravan of cars following this messiah across the USA from a small town in Texas to Washington D.C. 

The character is very "Jesus-like" looking.  He has long hair and a neatly cut beard and talks in a very sweet tone.  Most of the time he's wearing jeans and a hoodie.  I own a Miguel hoodie from the Disney movie Coco.  I wonder if now I should get a "Messiah Hoodie?"

I still have three episodes to watch and have joined a Netflix Messiah group on Facebook.  Everyone in the group thinks it is the best show ever.  I know my evangelical friends will say the opposite, but I don't care.  It's a fun show and I highly recommend watching it.

Now and Forever!

I have been thinking, I am connected to a certain group of people "now and forever" like the lyrics in the song "Now and Forever" sung by Carole King in the movie A League of Their Own.   (I just LOVE anything Carole King since her songs tell real life stories!) Those of us involved in this group experienced something together that can't be explained to most people who were not involved in that religious group.  

As the years have passed, I've realized that the group I was involved in, at least at the time, was very much like a religious cult in how it functioned.  

Later, when I led cause to fight the wrong things this group had done to me and others, again I was linked to those involved.  (By the way...I did not win the cause, but did leave a "mark" and was even mentioned by my full name as trying unsuccessfully to fight in a well-known religious magazine when the cult-like founder of the group passed away!)

There is nothing wrong with caring about those I knew from the cult-like group and there is nothing wrong in being still linked to certain people who I consider almost like family who fought with me or who were there for me NOW AND FOREVER!

Further Reading:

• The Saga Continues
• The Organization Is Doing Major Lay-Offs!