[powerpress]
Zila’s brother was shot while sitting out in front of his house—gunned down, no apparent reason. Zila’s family can’t attend the funeral because it’s too dangerous to go there, to Mexico—or is it Guatemala? It hardly matters; the story could be true in either place, or in just about any US city, for that matter.
About a year ago, I hired my rat guy Jose (an extremely responsible and capable guy who works for my extermination service) to do some odd jobs around the house on the weekend, as he has done for me in the past. He called several hours late on the appointed morning, apologizing profusely for not making it. He’d driven down to LA the night before. His brother had been shot down while walking from a liquor store to his car. No apparent reason. Jose was there to help out the guy’s family. He was extremely apologetic about not making it to my house and made sure several times to urge me to have a good weekend.
A Kaddish for all the senseless deaths.