"I miss his noise."

I was able to virtually attend an awards ceremony last night put on by CeaseFirePA. The program began with recognition of several parents who had lost children to gun violence. 

What grabbed me the most, by far, was a mother saying, of her son, shot and killed at 17 years old, “I miss his noise.” 

I recently re-watched the pilot episode of The Leftovers. The plot is about people mysteriously disappearing suddenly - just vanishing from whatever it was they were doing, wherever they were. 

I think of that phrase “I miss his noise.” There was a similar reaction by a mother in the show. 

She had  lost her children and yearned  to re-live even the worst day she had ever experienced with them just once more. 

Who among us has lived with someone they loved and not had moments when they were being annoying in some way. When that is taken away, it is what we then crave. 

In the show, there is no explanation of why people suddenly disappear. In our communities that grieve daily there is an explanation; the ease of obtaining firearms. 

The award was being given to the CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods who has taken laudable positions and actions. His words of wisdom: “Reasonable gun reform should not be that hard.” “Frustration is not a reason to stop.”

Please Vote. We must not stop.

Laura Madeleine

Elisa Abeloff, artist, with Lisa Harmon in front of the portrait of her son Alan Christopher Gray, “Fresh”.