Posted on 12/22/2005 1:14:17 PM PST by beyond the sea
I have watched my parents bury two of my four siblings, the most recent just six weeks ago, when we laid to rest my brother. He would have celebrated a birthday on Thursday. I have witnessed the raw emotion that accompanies such a tragic event.
So when the ESPN.com editors dispatched an e-mail Thursday morning, seeking a reactionary column to the death of James Dungy, the 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy and his wife, Lauren, I approached the laptop keyboard with this firsthand reality: Not even the greatest literary giants of this or any other time are capable of crafting words sufficient to assuage the profound grief that is inherent to the passing of any parent's child.
Admittedly more hack than wordsmith am I, so there isn't a single syllable of this column that can adequately console the Dungy family on their loss, or even remotely make sense of the situation. Editors have a pet term, "weighing in," on such stories. But words, even the sort of eloquent prose of which I'm rarely capable, carry little gravitas at these times.
To say nothing, though, in such cases is to essentially be as hollow as the hollow words themselves, and so some sincere effort is surely in order.
There is a devastating incongruity that transpires when the circle of life suddenly comes unraveled, and parents are called upon to bid an early farewell to a child. The celebrity imposed upon Tony Dungy and his family because of his station in life will neither lessen nor exacerbate what certainly must be the most painful experience imaginable.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
"He is a great football coach. Dungy, I can assure you, is an even better man, and he should be in our thoughts."
Mark Twain lost two children. Robert Frost lost a child. Charles Darwin lost a child. Abraham Lincoln lost two children. Thomas Jefferson lost a child. I think more US Presidents lost children than not. Losing a child 3 days before Christmas, extra pain if possible on top of the seemingly unbearable. Irving Berlin lost a baby on Christmas Day. I think of this every time I hear "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas".
This family's new painful life jopurney is profoundly felt and shared by those of us who walk on the same track.
His loss I cannot completely understand having not lost a child, but I believe Tony's deep faith will help to hold him up.
Prayers for the entire Dungy family.
I lost my brother in 1957 to Luekemia when I was 11. My parents never got over the loss of him to their last breath. There is no closure for this tragedy.
My prayers are with them and with you, Howlin!
What a horrible tragedy to strike the Dungy family.
Better to have kept your thoughts to yourself. They really have no place on this thread of sharing and understanding of such pain.
The family will no doubt have an enormous amount of support around them. I can imagine that that must be some comfort, though nothing I'm sure eases the pain.
Thanks; I am not alone on FR. There are a lot of "us" out there.
And there are lot of you guys out there, holding us up. You just won't ever know what it means.
My nephew's best friend, Pete Pierson, played O-Line in Tampa Bay for many years. The new coach came in and cut him. Tony picked him up at Indy.
Pete was at the end of his career and spent most the time on the bench or taxi squad. Tony asked him how close Pete was to max NFL retirement. One year, said Pete.
Tony got him in a game for one quarter. That gave him the credit for the year he needed.
Isn't it nice to know so many people whom you have never met in person, but only talk to on this forum, can be so kind and supportive?
I have posted a couple of prayer requests in the past, and the people here never fail to offer their sincere thoughts and prayers.
It is truly a blessed place at times.
Dungy family and faith ping ...........
Another writer lost three children, but I cannot remember who it is right off the top of my head.
Great and real story of Tony Dungy.
I don't think he means "a reactionary column." He means a "column that would react to." Course, he's a professional writer, dontcha know.
It is one of the unexpected joys of FR and life, IMO.
The kindness of (not so) strangers, if you will.
His celebrity is based on integrity...thats one thing that sets it apart from other celebrities.
In regards to the military families, Ken..come on, I'm sure they even realize what a tragic loss suicide is.
Pat Tillman probably would understand.
Now go turn that frown upside down you curmudgeon. :)
Merry Christmas to you and your family, BTS.
And our thoughts to the Dungy's and all who have lost children all to young in life.
Dungy family and faith ping ......
Yes.
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