The Passing of Otis¶
Last week I learned that a friend of mine in Atlanta passed away. His name is Otis and during our year in Atlanta, we grew close to his family. He leaves behind a mismatched family of five and will be sorely missed. I hadn’t interacted with him a lot while I was in Atlanta but I appreciated his friendliness and warmth.
It feels ironic to describe Otis’ friendliness and warmth because when I first saw him, I admit I was kind of frightened. He had a look that was easy for me to mistake as anger and it looked as though the streets had worn him down for a long time. I remember the feeling of surprise the first time I heard him speak. He wasn’t angry at all. Inside he was kind and cared about his family.
As I processed a feeling of loss, the song Blackbird by The Beatles came to be a fitting memorial of Otis.
Blackbird singing in the dead of nightTake these broken wings and learn to flyAll your lifeYou were only waiting for this moment to ariseBlack bird singing in the dead of nightTake these sunken eyes and learn to seeall your lifeyou were only waiting for this moment to be freeBlackbird fly, Blackbird flyInto the light of the dark black night.Blackbird fly, Blackbird flyInto the light of the dark black night.Blackbird singing in the dead of nightTake these broken wings and learn to flyAll your lifeYou were only waiting for this moment to ariseBlackbird fly, Blackbird flyInto the light of the dark black night.Blackbird fly, Blackbird flyInto the light of the dark black night.Black bird singing in the dead of nightTake these sunken eyes and learn to seeall your lifeyou were only waiting for this moment to be freeyou were only waiting for this moment to be freeyou were only waiting for this moment to be free