Mourning a Loss at Celebrity Cafe
UPDATE: The reader tells us he got his facts wrong in the first version. The following story took place at Celebrity Cafe in Highland Park Village, and the woman in question was 24.
A reader shares this story, which is a great reminder that we need to take the time to appreciate the people we come in contact with on a daily basis, even if it’s just the person behind the counter at the restaurant or the dry cleaner:
My wife came home crying the other day because she had stopped by the City Café to go to pick up and iced tea, and instead of the cheerful attractive lady that usually greats her, there was a framed photo of that same lady. The mid 30’s lady had died in a car accident the day before, her 3 children, aged 2,4 and 7 were also injured. Evidentally, this lady is a popular character who is was a favorite with many regular customers and now has 3 very young children who are temporarily being cared for by her former/estranged husband. My wife learned this very sad story from the manager at city café to go. It just made me think that there are so many in the park cities who probably knew of this woman, would be touched by this story and in some way want to help.
I live in HP and am often struck by how often we come in contact with people who’s stories must be fascinating, yet while we see them often (sometimes every day for years) and they brighten are lives, we barely know them. For instance, the lovely man from Africa who works at the gelato place in the HP Village movie theatre, or the guys at Eatzies serving breakfast omelettes – many of these folks must have incredible stories and lives and yet we glance by them without knowing the hardship they endured to be here etc. I can recall the first generation Vietnamese lady who showed up at my mother in laws’s funeral sobbing when she discovered that a 30 year customer had passed away.
Thank you for a well-written and moving post. Merritt Patterson wrote a wonderful piece last year on a young waitress at Kuby’s named Branca, who emigrated here from war-torn Bosnia and whose family endured terrible hardships just trying to get by each day. I spoke with Branca on the day she was able to purchase her very first car; her pride at this accomplishment was very evident and I was impressed by the many successes she has achieved through sweat equity and a positive outlook. Again, thanks to the above reader for his/her post; it was one I’ll be thinking about in the days to come.