Raquel Martina Martinez

July 25, 2012
I lost a grandson a few weeks ago.  His death was caused by a freak household accident that claimed his life within hours.  No one had time to do more than react and pray for the best. For once in my life I had no words of wisdom for my daughter, no remedy or solution that would make everything better.  I stood by while she heard the words no parent ever wants to hear – her child, her baby, was not responding to everything the trauma medical team was  frantically trying.  Her twenty-two-month-old child was dying. One moment her fearless little boy was bombing around the house playing and climbing on furniture, the next he was injured and quiet. What should have been a boo-boo made better with mommy kisses, ended up a fatality. I try not to relive the horror of that night, but I struggle to sleep.  I wait until my eyes close from exhaustion and I wake a few hours later with a start.  Sadness and fear chase me in my dreams. I do not dare imagine what goes through my daught…

When my grandfather passed away, we had to downsize my grandmother’s household so she could move in with my parents.  We went through all of her treasures and the unsellable stuff went first – old oleo containers, chipped or broken things, and paper bags in all sizes and shapes – into the trash can.  Next we went through all of her better stuff, especially the things she had squirreled away in the tops of her closets and in the bottom drawers of her dressers. Some things were still in their original packaging or in their gift boxes with their price tags still attached.  She doled out the better stuff among us, and then, we labeled the remainder, assigning it a price and held a two-three day garage sale in her front yard until most of it was gone. I don’t know what happened to the stuff that didn’t sell, but it was probably donated to some charitable organization, like Goodwill. My grandmother never complained, took it all in stride, but I know it must have been difficult to see her be…

·What if I stay home, save my money, and take in the local sights? Don’t go outside for prolonged periods because of the mosquitoes and Zika. Drive bys happen anywhere, hackers are waiting for you to use the ATM machine, stalled traffic, drunk drivers, road rage, safety recalls.
·Maybe I will go to the beach? UV rays cause melanoma, flesh eating organisms lie in wait in the gulf, sharks bite everyone.
·The local lakes? Alligators or is it crocodiles?
·Disney? Crocodiles or is it alligators? 
·How about a movie in a nice cool, air conditioned theater, visit a new church, or go to a nightclub? Self-radicalized terrorists, crazies, disgruntled ex-employees strike in the most vulnerable places.
·Maybe I should go ahead, take a risk and travel, maybe a plane trip or a cruise? Norovirus, pirates and hijackers, the ever-depreciating American dollar, terrorists, crocodiles, alligators, sharks . . . .
·What if I go nowhere, see no one, stay indoors, shades drawn, refuse to answer the phone, the door…