Two things happened today.
My middle daughter came over for a visit and wanted me to hear a song she didn’t think i would have heard. My grown children often introduce new music to me and i love it. She pulled it up on Youtube and it was a cover of The Sound of Silence by Disturbed. I was stunned, amazed, mesmerized. It was beautiful, it was sad, it was stirring. She talked about her reaction to it and we talked some about the birth of the song in the 1960’s. She felt that it embodied so much of our feelings about the election, the primaries, the constant onslaught of bad news about Trump, the rallies, his many failings and flaws and inhumanities, and especially the election and the aftermath, in which we are all still reeling. I listened to it a number of times after she left and feel that it is even better than the original.
After doing some things around the house I turned on the 6:00 PBS Newshour (which is the only mainstream TV news i have watched for years) and was completely shocked to find out Gwen Ifill has died. I knew she had some health issues and had been absent but had no idea she was gone. President Obama was telling how sad he was, and the Newshour team, with numerous guests, were remembering her. I couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t take it in. She is one of the absolute best news anchors ever. I always knew that no matter how bad the news was, she could make it better. She was incredibly warm, funny, a little irreverent, always insightful, always curious, always looking for ways to inform us better than before. She brought light and laughter and her beautiful smile to every Newshour. I always trusted her in all her stories. She had warmth and respect and empathy for all of humanity. A great light is gone.
Without Gwen Ifill to fill us in on the news and give us her wonderful insight, and smile her beautiful smile, the sound of silence is deafening. I will miss her every night.
(FYI...this is my first diary.)