We all take life for granted. Until destiny cracks it open like a raw egg. Suddenly life goes pfft, lost in the hollow of the silence that ensues.
Only God knows why life suddenly can jackknife like a tractor-trailer on ice. But a belief in God gives us hope that the next life is a better life.
Life on earth is a throwaway existence. We survive until the day we don’t.
We all try to survive life even though nobody ever has. But most of us don’t think too much about that. We’re so busy living life that we don’t develop a keen appreciation for things larger than life.
Matters of life and death usually aren’t on our mind when we go to work. Unless you’re a cop, a firefighter, a roofer or a logger, fear of dying at work is the least of your worries.
Rather our focus seldom ventures from a work environment any larger than a thimble, one circumscribed by routine and the task at hand.
People who make chocolate for a living don’t expect to die doing so. Until they do.
Seven people died in a massive explosion at the RM Palmer chocolate factory in West Reading on Friday, March 24. Miraculously, one person buried in the thick-braided rubble was rescued. Another 10 more were transported to the hospital.
Seven people who toiled somewhere between obscurity and anonymity in West Reading suddenly were all over the headlines and newscasts in death.
When people die suddenly, unexpectedly and violently, it’s hard to process. We start thinking more deeply about life, death, loss and the fragility of it all. There is a gruesome finality to having loved ones go to work and never come home.
Our hearts grieve for all the victims and their families. Our mood is as black as carbon.
Saying we all are day to day is a cliché until the reality of it hits close to home – and then it’s a wrecking ball of anguish to the gut.
While human existence is fragile, the human spirit is resilient in the face of adversity. Tragedy seems to spawn people’s finest moments in its wake.
When disaster strikes, it brings people together as they bond to make the community whole again. With a gaping hole in the small borough of West Reading, the road to recovery is a daunting one.
To aid members of the community who were affected by the explosion, two organizations have partnered to create the West Reading Disaster Recovery Fund. The Berks County Community Foundation and the United Way of Berks County have come together to establish the fund at the request of West Reading Borough Council.
It’s time to lend a hand to those who need a hand.
Donations can be made online at bccf.org or by mailing a check to Berks County Community Foundation, 237 Court St., Reading, PA 19601 and noting the West Reading Disaster Recovery Fund in the memo line.
Mike Zielinski, a resident of Berks County, is a columnist, novelist, playwright and screenwriter.
Source: Berkshire mont
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