Three people that I knew have died in as many months. The first, Jerry La Pointe, died
suddenly on June 13. I first met Jerry in May 2004 when he hired me as a driver. I only worked for him for about a month, but I really appreciated the opportunity it provided me to get to know his wonderful daughter, Colette La Pointe. Jerry also helped me get a job when I was in DC at Global Communicators. I really appreciated the opportunity to develop professional skills in such a welcoming and focused environment. I would not have been able to do that without Jerry's recommendation. I was comforted by his friendship with my father and I admired how much he loved his children.
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| Jerry La Pointe, 1950-2015 |
The second was my great uncle, Daniel Krinsky. Daniel did so many wonderful things in his long life. He helped raise his sister (and my grandmother) Elaine (née Krinsky) Boxer grow up in New York in the aftermath of the Great War. He worked in his father's bakery and
served honorably in the European Theater in World War II. He married, sired children, worked as a taxi driver, served as a volunteer EMT, doted on his grandchildren and grand nephews. He was an accomplished woodworker. He lived long, and well. I admired him for his grit, courage, and candor. I loved walking the streets of New York with him and hearing about how he grew up. I liked how he really lived life. He embraced the digital age with gusto getting an email account, cell phone, and digital camera. I liked how he maintained his little car for longer than I was alive.
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| David and Daniel at a family reunion in Midtown, Manhattan, December 2013 |
Finally,
Colleen Welsh Alfonso died on August 20. Colleen made Haiti feel like home to me before anyone else. She helped get me involved in the Marine's bootcamp and invited me to do the first activity outside of Port-au-Prince: go to Kaliko Beach Club. She was spirited, turbulent, enigmatic and fun. She loved history, particularly Soviet history, and pursued an online degree. She was a Marine. She was strong - she could push and squat over, over, and over again. She wasn't a good runner, but she strove against herself to improve. She often led bootcamp. She worked hard and diligently when the Marines were understaffed for months at a time. She struggled and stumbled, but fought back and sought to better herself.
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| Colleen, second from right, at a Toga Party in July 2013. |
I've been fortunate to have been insulated from death for such a long period of time. These painful reminders of the fragility of life and their unexpected imparts highlights how precious it is and the difficultly of imagining one's affect on others, even from far away. Most importantly, it's important to live life well because it's so terribly short.
