Welcome to the Commenting Pixie Party!
Amen.
Oh, Phantom.
Another one for the record books, Phantom. Thank you for bringing the Belarussian beekeeper and his wise theology our way... it is, indeed, comforting to use his line of thinking.
Oh my gosh, that made me cry. You are such an amazing, amazing writer and thinker.
(o)
Now I wish I didn't have my blog, so I could start one up and call it the Belarussian Beekeeper.
I'm going to post that on my wall, I think. Thank you.
Well, ppb, there have been a lot of tears here over the past 24 hours. This post is for Helen.
(That link won't last the weekend.)
I may have to let my daughter read this post, Phantom -- it very eloquently shows the anger and befuddlement that a lot of Jews experienced after the war. (Offspring chose to do her Social Science Fair project on "Children and the Holocaust. We've been reading the accounts of children, and their seeming fury at God over the persecution(or at least that's the reaction of some). Maybe this will help explain things for her. Thank you, and (o).
(o)
(o)
What a post, Phantom--very heart-wrenching and one that will stay with me. Thanks for the bee-keeper tale--and for all of it.
Oh my Gosh, phantom....she was your friend...the one you sent a gift to after katrina, right? I am so sorry.
What a particularly poignant post. (You have my permission to delete this comment if you want)
Oh my. On so many levels. What a beautiful piece of writing! And I'm so, so sorry. How inadequate.
You got it, PPB. I've interacted more with him than with her, but as one of the many, many people have said, they are both the kind of people that if you've met them once, you are their friend.
(I'll remove the link and any seriously incriminating comments later tonight or tomorrow. But I think yours can stay.)
Oh, Phantom. I'm so, so, sorry. Your words are amazing.
You can delete this comment if you want, but all I can say right now is that this is so fucked up. Not what you said, of course, just the whole thing. And I know it's not mine at all, but, well, that's about all I can think about, even, or perhaps especially, as the story grows.
What a beautiful piece. And I am so sorry.
This is such a beautiful post, Phantom. Thank you for sharing the story of the Belarussian beekeeper with us.
I'm so sorry, Phantom. I was hoping your beautiful words weren't inspired by a particular tragedy.
Phantom, that you can wrench such beauty from grief and such meaning from chaos gives me more hope than I can currently find in any deity, cow-killing or otherwise. Like Lucy, I was hoping this was a general reflection, not a poignant and personal lamentation. But either way, it's the most amazing thing I've read in a long time. Thank you.
Such wonderful writing. Such horror and sadness.
Thank you for this beautiful post Phantom. I'm so very sorry about your friends.
Oh, Phantom! That you can find comfort in this assures me that I'm not in your league.
Combine this with the news of the shooting of the black mayor, also in Lousiana http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070...s/
mayor_s_death
and I'm not so sure about even a little God.
Can there be an omnipotent being unable to manage even Lousiana?
*Leaves to find a perfect pebble for Helen*
(o)
(o)
Phantom, I'm so, so sorry. Thank you for creating such a thing of beauty out of such a tragedy - you are one of those people who makes the world a better place.
I had to come back. I was thinking of your friends all night. And thinking of the incredible youness of you that cobbles together the most spectacular of essays in memoriam. All I can manage in grief are deep sighs, sobs, monosyllables.
I am so, so, sorry for all of this. I don't understand it one bit.
But you are a true gem, Ms. Scribbler.
Oh, no. Phantom, I'm so sorry.
Phantom, are you sure you shouldn't be a rabbi? Because your gifts would be appreciated.
I love you.
A friend of mine in New Orleans told me about this-- I'm sorry for your loss and her loss, but also for the city's loss, and for their son's loss. If any city ever needed people like them, it was modern-day New Orleans.
There's so much loss to go around, in this story. It's heartbreaking.
Oh, Phantom, I'm so sorry for your loss. And I love the Belarussian beekeeper story.
(o)
Oh, Phantom; I'm so sorry.
Lovely. And horrifying. I am so, so sorry.
Phantom, I'm so very sorry for your loss...I read a few news reports on the web and she sounds like quite the woman. I'm so sorry.
You do have a remarkable eloquence; this is a beautiful post.
I am so, so sorry, Phantom.
Oh the horror! Makes me sick. You are amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Phantom, I am so sorry to read your update about the inspiration for this post. It is heart-wrenching. And, as others have said, your ability to write this essay out of your grief is a gift to all of us, and to her memory. Thank you.
Thank you, everyone, for your sympathy, and your extremely kind words. But it would be dishonest of me to let the condolences stand without making it clear that it is not my loss, except in the sense that is all of our loss. I am only one of the thousands of people who knew Helen and Paul briefly and were struck by their essential goodness. There are very few people like Helen and Paul in this world, and now there are fewer. We are all the poorer for it.
(I have decided to let the links and the references stand. It is a poor sort of courage, but it is all I have.)
i read this post last night, and had nothing to say because it was perfect and beautiful, too much to absorb at once. and tonight i read the comments, and i am so sorry for the loss that inspired your post. the loss of your friend, and the loss to all of us.
Such a tragedy, phantom. So horrific and sad. You chose such a beautiful story to convey your grief, and hope. I don't believe in god, but I do believe in the wisdom of Belarussian beekeepers.
Oh Jeez, I'm so sorry. Life is so sad.
You are the most amazing writer I've ever met. Please keep writing. It's your gift.
Oh, my. Dear Phantom, what a lovely post.
grandma blue is right -- you have a gift.
What a GREAT STORY!!! Super! I love it!
Oh, I am so so sorry. For Helen, for Paul, for Francis. And for New Orleans, which cannot afford such a grievous loss.
Commenting by HaloScan
