Thanks Sari for asking the thought-provoking (and introspective) questions. Among other things, it made me think back to what 2001 meant to me.
I survived the worst layoff of the company I joined just a few months earlier—the one I resigned/retired from last year—had ever conducted, and bought a ticket on an early morning United flight from Newark to San Francisco on September 11th only to change it to a later flight because I thought the flight was too early and it was free to make same-day change ... The rest is history, and, fate.
Reading your essay made me think about what has happened since then, what I have been doing to deserve that second chance, and what it should mean to this current (and next?) phase of my life.
I didn't know him, but I, too, found the obits weird, and stopped reading them. It was enough to know my friends had lost someone they loved. I'm so sorry.
And you know how I feel about Rhinebeck, so you can imagine how I feel for past you, being there at such a hard time in your life. Love you.
PS - interestingly, I also wrote to Mr President that year, but I sent a postcard from Nice, where I was working on a fashion shoot. I asked him to stop, and stated my objection to his use of the tax money I had been neglecting to pay but would one day have to pay with interest, even more grudgingly. I guess Gabe knew how we were all feeling.
Thank you for this, Sari! Reading this made me cry and laugh. Losing Gabe really hurts. I suspect that hurt will continue to appear whenever there are challenging moments that require moral clarity and humor. Like you, I’m struck by the timing of The New Yorker piece. It’s an almost perfect reflection of the lessons from history Gabe was always trying to impart. Also, like you, I felt compelled to write something about Gabe. I hope it’s ok if I share that with you here.
Contrasting Dubya's Presidency with Brandon's (to be more than fair) foreign affairs activity, I would deem the former's deep black, and the latter's medium gray.
It does appear always to come down to the lesser of two evils but the details reflect the huge difference in the final human costs.
Thanks Sari for asking the thought-provoking (and introspective) questions. Among other things, it made me think back to what 2001 meant to me.
I survived the worst layoff of the company I joined just a few months earlier—the one I resigned/retired from last year—had ever conducted, and bought a ticket on an early morning United flight from Newark to San Francisco on September 11th only to change it to a later flight because I thought the flight was too early and it was free to make same-day change ... The rest is history, and, fate.
Reading your essay made me think about what has happened since then, what I have been doing to deserve that second chance, and what it should mean to this current (and next?) phase of my life.
Whoa. I'm so glad you rescheduled your flight, Yi. <3
I didn't know him, but I, too, found the obits weird, and stopped reading them. It was enough to know my friends had lost someone they loved. I'm so sorry.
And you know how I feel about Rhinebeck, so you can imagine how I feel for past you, being there at such a hard time in your life. Love you.
xoc
Thank you, Carolita. 😘
PS - interestingly, I also wrote to Mr President that year, but I sent a postcard from Nice, where I was working on a fashion shoot. I asked him to stop, and stated my objection to his use of the tax money I had been neglecting to pay but would one day have to pay with interest, even more grudgingly. I guess Gabe knew how we were all feeling.
Wow.
Thank you for this, Sari! Reading this made me cry and laugh. Losing Gabe really hurts. I suspect that hurt will continue to appear whenever there are challenging moments that require moral clarity and humor. Like you, I’m struck by the timing of The New Yorker piece. It’s an almost perfect reflection of the lessons from history Gabe was always trying to impart. Also, like you, I felt compelled to write something about Gabe. I hope it’s ok if I share that with you here.
https://open.substack.com/pub/michaelestrin/p/rest-in-peace-buddy?r=1fqhx&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you for these kind words, Michael. Yes, I read and was moved by your tribute earlier. Thanks for that, too.
Condolences on the loss of your friend and colleague.
Thanks, Steph. <3
I’m so grateful you shared this, and oh how I wish he were still here. 🥺
<3
Thank you for this wonderful post Sari!
Contrasting Dubya's Presidency with Brandon's (to be more than fair) foreign affairs activity, I would deem the former's deep black, and the latter's medium gray.
It does appear always to come down to the lesser of two evils but the details reflect the huge difference in the final human costs.