In support of all victims of violence and hatred.
On a warm Friday afternoon in 2016, I drove south on the Florida turnpike past Orlando with Sherry Levin, my life partner. We were on the way to Delray Beach for her father Milt’s 90th birthday celebration. On Saturday evening, June 11, his wife, brother, sister-in-law, son, daughter, friends, and I were all in fine form toasting Milt’s longevity at his favorite restaurant.
Sunday morning, we woke to news of the horrific event at the Pulse nightclub. On our way home that afternoon, we stopped for gas near Fort Pierce and saw the Florida state patrol searching for clues in the mass shooting. We cried tears mixed with relief driving north past Orlando. Sherry’s son and his husband were not able to make their grandfather’s birthday party but were safe at their Boston home.
When a young person is taken away from this world, our natural balance tilts and spins backward. We experience darkness and light, good and bad emotions. Mother nature rages: bolts of lightning strike, hale hits, and rain pours. With violent storms and heavenly upheavals, a rainbow often appears - uplifting our spirits; moving us forward once again.
I find peace in the wonder of nature and the ebb and flow of life. My rainbow-inspired ifishtail reflect my hope that one person, then two, into three, can become a community based on love. May we learn to live in peace and harmony with each other. I honor those who lost their lives at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando and support all victims of violence and hatred.
Foot Notes: Sherry and I were at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport on February 14, 2018. We heard on live CNN coverage that 17 lives were lost to gun violence at Stoneman Douglas High School near the airport. All flights were put on security hold. I prayed for gun violence to stop. I continue to support U.S. political leaders who seek to control use by civilians of automatic military-style weapons of mass destruction.
Sherry’s father passed away last year. His memorial service in Delray Beach, FL, was led by the Rabbi Jonathan Kaplan, spiritual advisor to Stoneman Douglas High School High School.
On June 18, 2019 the transport van I was on from ORL was stopped about to enter the turnpike. The donald j. trump's motorcade parade passed below - he just announced his run for president of the USA in Orlando.