Double Tall Iced Mocha, Lite on the Chocolate

On Nov. 4 there was a bustle of police activity on the sidewalk near my office in Greenlake. Not paying much mind, I went into to the office where my coworker informed me that someone committed suicide on the sidewalk outside our office. There is a bar that runs from a telephone pole over to a fence on the local junior high school parking lot, which someone had used to hang them self.

It was pretty chilling to walk under that bar on my way to lunch later in the day, thinking about what had taken place. Since then there has been a cross w/some flowers place on the telephone pole, some notes of sympathy and blessings, some from people who lived in the neighborhood, who did not know the person.

I felt the need to post a entry about it. Over the past couple of weeks it has become a part of my morning commute as much as a cup of coffee. Almost every morning I walk by the spot, to see if the flowers and cross are still there, to see if there are any additional notes left by people. A brief morning reflection to put everything into perspective. I may feel stressed about something I have to deal with at work, I might be tired, I may not feel well. But every morning, I have this brief reminder that these little things that sometimes weigh heavy on my mind, are in the big picture not very tough at all.

While I have no idea what pushed this person to edge, I can imagine it must not be a very good feeling to be convinced that such a drastic action is the only way out. So guy on the sidewalk whoever you were, I dont know if it solved your problems or ended your pain the way you hoped, but it has made a mark in my morning commute.