Passing by...

It is a scene oft repeated in recent times ... masses of flowers, candles, photos and messages left at the site of some tragic event.

 Most leaving their tribute never knew or were touched by the deceased during their lifetime.  But somehow tragedy transcends the gulf and we all feel bound together intimately in the face of untimely or unwarranted death.  We briefly realise that we are not alone.. we are not isolated islands in a sea of humanity.

Wrong done to one is a wrong done to us all.  And so we unite to express our solidarity, however little we honour it at other times.

Today I walked past a bench in Sherwood Road just outside the Village Shopping Centre.

 Unoccupied.  But as I passed I noticed a small arrangement of flowers sitting on the edge of the bench with a photo attached.  It was a snap of Tom - a cheery overweight unknown who sat there each fortnight selling the BIG ISSUE.  Most people just walked on past him paying no attention to his lively spiel.  But to the occasional person who stopped to hand over their $7 (or mostly $10 "and keep the change Tom") he had a cheery greeting and loved nothing more than to engage in a minute or two of philosophising on the state of the world.

That lonely bunch of flowers on the empty seat spoke eloquently of the fact that Tom's life had touched someone else's, and that even the least of us are not an island after all.  I went back into Coles and bought a bunch of flowers to keep that lonely tribute company -- and to be a floral prayer for one I too often passed by.