Last night I noticed police cars and lights in front of our building but it was dark and rainy, so I thought someone must have been caught speeding. Edgewood Avenue is a 35 mph zone, not that anyone obeys it. An hour later we all knew that Sylvia was walking to the convenience store just a block away, across the street, with a gentleman friend. They did not cross at the light, unfortunately, and she fell on the slippery street and was hit. The driver kept going; a hit and run. Her friend was not injured but she was taken to Shands where she later died.
Some of us sat out on the balcony watching as the police taped off our street as a crime scene for a couple of hours, and her friend and family gathered there consoling one another as best they could. I don't know why her friend was not walking closer or supporting her as they crossed the dark street or why she was hit and he was not, but my neighbor whom I had not bothered to know is gone.....suddenly, with no notice, no way to say 'good bye'.
You can believe that from now on I will take more time to speak to my neighbors, maybe even learn a little about who they are and about their lives or what they think about. I'm sorry I never got to know Sylvia and I am sorry I didn't care enough to say anything past "hello". Perhaps I might have learned something interesting or valuable from Sylvia. I'll never know.
Life holds no guarantees for any of us. Live each day as if it were your last, and also as if it is the first day of the rest of your life. I wonder where Sylvia is today and for all eternity.
~Grandma Claudia