Saturday, October 31, 2020

Austin W., RIP.

There's a large area of graves, many of them fresh, at the cemetery where Lilith and I walk, not far from the entrance off Kahekili. Someone has put little white fences around the area, along with large bundles of flowers. Another local walker noticed a large evening gathering there about a week ago; a day or two later, I saw a couple clearing leaves from under the tree nearby. One recent grave had a name on it, so I googled. Austin W. was a 19 year old soldier who died at Fort Sill last August, apparently of heat stroke. Today, I ask the Pacific Islander who works at the gate what the story is about all the fresh graves in one place. He said a Micronesian family had lost someone each month for several months in a row. One teenager died racing his car. I remembered the 17 year old named Elmo who died racing on H1 in the late 90s, and whose grave was maintained lovingly for over a year. It's nearly election day, my guard shack friend said to me. Tuesday. Lilith and I kept walking. May that family have peace and strength.

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