Stephen Hawking and Christina

I work in a Starbucks, and every once in a while a famous or pseudo famous person walks in. I suppose they need their caffeine fix from time to time just like everyone else... One of our local celebrities is Stephen Hawking, and he comes into our store simply because we have the largest disbled toilet in the Market area, and it is most convenient for someone with a large motorized wheelchair. Stephen Hawking is an amazing scientist who has made some real significant advancements in our world, but every time I see him I am really saddened because he suffers from the same disease that my mother had. Why does one person get to live for so long (he has been living with the disease for 49 years) while my mom only had a year and a half? Furthermore, would I have wanted her to live any longer, suffering as she did? Why does it upset me so much to see this man that I don't even know?

Christina is a friend of mine from High School. I first met her in seventh grade when all of the town elementary schools poured into one tiny junior high school. We clicked immediately. She is someone that everyone likes because she is perpetually cheerful and enthusiastic about everything. Her family was a bit of a town phenomenon, because she had lots of siblings, and they were all runners. Her mom and dad were hard core runners, who ran every race in town and always won the men's and women's divisions. When Chris got old enough, she won them all too. Her family was close and running together made them just a bit closer. Chris and her mom had a very special mother-daughter relationship because, like me and my mom, they always got along. Kids don't always get along with their parents, and if they do, they are very lucky.
Chris and I were close friends all through high school, but when we went away to college in different states, we fell out of touch.

The year my mom died, I heard from a mutual friend that Chris had tragically lost her mother as well. Chris had a completely different situation to handle, being the oldest of several (I think there were five) younger siblings. Their mother was killed instantly in a head-on collision. They didn't have any time to say goodbye, or tie up loose ends. Their mother was gone in an instant. When I heard about their tragedy, I contacted Chris to ask if there was anything I could do, or offer any condolence. She seemed to be dealing with the whole situation in stride, and she said that she had had to take over the role of matriarch through the loss of her mother. The unusual moments of strength and grace that people have in times of tragedy are truly a gift. The way that she took over her family and led her brothers and sister through such a horrible tragedy is an amazingly powerful inspiration to other people in similar situations. Chris is someone that people can really look up to. I will write more about her in later writings.