I had planned to continue posting trip photos, but this is more important. This is about Chanel.
She was 16 years old.
She was a straight-A student.
I never met her, but I understand that she was a lovely girl. She also was lovely, in terms of her looks. This I know from photos I've seen of her face in the past several days.
Her mother is one of our employees.
This afternoon, I went with a colleague to a wake for Chanel.
Eleven days ago, Chanel left her home to go to the local Applebee's and apply for a job. She never made it there. About a week ago, her body was found in a trash bag. She had been strangled.
I'm not a very religious man, but I said a prayer as I stood in front of her open casket today. I asked God for peace for her soul, and I asked God for justice for those who are responsible for this unspeakable murder.
A final note to the New York Post reporter who stopped me and my colleague as we left: I know that rag you work for isn't even worth lining birdcages, but is asking "how does this make you feel?" really the best question you can come up with? (Needless to say, we weren't inclined to chat.)
4 comments:
God, that's horrible. One of those times when you don't understand how the world works.
So, so sad. It's one of those things that makes you want to hold the ones you love as close as you can.
Life can be so painful sometimes that for those of us who believe purpose and meaning exist, it can be a real challange -- as it was meant to be -- to reconcile the violence and the unhappiness of the world to that outlook.
Ah, the New York Post. Never met a murdered girl it couldn't make a buck off of.
Gads! How tragic! The poor girl and her family. I hope whomever did that to her is caught and put away forever.
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