It's a sad, sad day.
Today was just a sad day.
I guess that there were some pockets of joy for some people - myself included. But on the whole, as days go, it was a very sad day.
Some people outside Philadelphia, and nearly everyone inside and around Philadelphia, have heard about the shooting/slaying of Sgt. Liczbinski, who died pursuing bank robbery suspects. Today was the funeral service at the Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul, which is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment. The procession took the Sgt. up the Parkway to his final resting place somewhere North and East of where I live.
It's a strange thing. I live near the Art Museum, The Parkway, Boathouse Row, and the general vicinity of "city events" - the location where "things happen", and more importantly, where traffic gets blocked off so that things CAN happen.
I'm always the most vocal critic and complainer of these events. "This fucks up my whole weekend!" "This is in my WAY!" "There are too many PEOPLE!" My previous complaint of having no parking is joyously no longer an issue, but the rest of them are still valid.
But today... with more traffic blocked off than for any event that I can imagine (save for probably Live 8, but I got the hell out of dodge for that), I didn't seem to mind. I didn't in any way get upset about the traffic situation, the barricades, the delays, the wait. In fact, I got upset about a slain officer.
And that sort of never happens. Philadelphia's had more than its share of slain officers in the last two years. Six months ago, another officer was slain (which if I recall, received far less attention than this officer's death). I remember that I thought it was a real shame what had happened, but I wasn't brought to the point of actually feeling something about it.
I stopped at Starbucks for breakfast, and thought about getting my camera to snap a couple of photos of the Parkway, since I'd have to go down that way to get to where I was going for the day. But two things stopped me, once I got in the car.
1: Something in my head told me that it would be disrespectful to the officer, his family, and the uniform. I'm not sure what it was that gave me that sense, and I don't know why I'd feel that way, but I did.
2: I came very close to tears. And I don't know why that happened either. But I was sad for the officer, sad for his family, sad for the police force, and I was sad for the city. I didn't cry, but I did have to take a minute to compose myself, and reflect on the fact that for the first time, the death of a police officer had affected me.
I don't know why this officer's death is affecting me in a more profound way than those previous, but maybe that's why he's getting the additional attention. Or maybe the previous officer's family had requested more private services.
I would be remiss if I didn't factor in the weather, on some level. Rain started overnight and lasted all through the day, adding an especially somber and morose feeling to the day's events. I'm the first to admit that the weather has an effect on my mood - brighter days make me happier, dreary days make me down - but I think that today's weather pretty accurately matched the mood of the city.
I guess that there were some pockets of joy for some people - myself included. But on the whole, as days go, it was a very sad day.
Some people outside Philadelphia, and nearly everyone inside and around Philadelphia, have heard about the shooting/slaying of Sgt. Liczbinski, who died pursuing bank robbery suspects. Today was the funeral service at the Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul, which is about a 10 minute walk from my apartment. The procession took the Sgt. up the Parkway to his final resting place somewhere North and East of where I live.
It's a strange thing. I live near the Art Museum, The Parkway, Boathouse Row, and the general vicinity of "city events" - the location where "things happen", and more importantly, where traffic gets blocked off so that things CAN happen.
I'm always the most vocal critic and complainer of these events. "This fucks up my whole weekend!" "This is in my WAY!" "There are too many PEOPLE!" My previous complaint of having no parking is joyously no longer an issue, but the rest of them are still valid.
But today... with more traffic blocked off than for any event that I can imagine (save for probably Live 8, but I got the hell out of dodge for that), I didn't seem to mind. I didn't in any way get upset about the traffic situation, the barricades, the delays, the wait. In fact, I got upset about a slain officer.
And that sort of never happens. Philadelphia's had more than its share of slain officers in the last two years. Six months ago, another officer was slain (which if I recall, received far less attention than this officer's death). I remember that I thought it was a real shame what had happened, but I wasn't brought to the point of actually feeling something about it.
I stopped at Starbucks for breakfast, and thought about getting my camera to snap a couple of photos of the Parkway, since I'd have to go down that way to get to where I was going for the day. But two things stopped me, once I got in the car.
1: Something in my head told me that it would be disrespectful to the officer, his family, and the uniform. I'm not sure what it was that gave me that sense, and I don't know why I'd feel that way, but I did.
2: I came very close to tears. And I don't know why that happened either. But I was sad for the officer, sad for his family, sad for the police force, and I was sad for the city. I didn't cry, but I did have to take a minute to compose myself, and reflect on the fact that for the first time, the death of a police officer had affected me.
I don't know why this officer's death is affecting me in a more profound way than those previous, but maybe that's why he's getting the additional attention. Or maybe the previous officer's family had requested more private services.
I would be remiss if I didn't factor in the weather, on some level. Rain started overnight and lasted all through the day, adding an especially somber and morose feeling to the day's events. I'm the first to admit that the weather has an effect on my mood - brighter days make me happier, dreary days make me down - but I think that today's weather pretty accurately matched the mood of the city.