I’ve witnessed enough sorrow to believe that most don’t know what to say to the grieving, and when we open our mouths, we prove it.
That’s a sobering thought for journalists whose first reaction to tragic news is to write hundreds, if not thousands, of words about it.
Fewer is often better.
Two days after the fatal flooding of July 4, former President George W. Bush offered these:
“On this day of prayer, Laura and I are holding up our fellow Texans who are hurting. We are heartbroken by the loss of life and the agony so many are feeling. Those who have lost their precious children are facing a grief no parents should ever know.”
Yet even well-said condolences delivered by a former commander in chief can only go so far.
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“We know our words cannot help, but we believe the prayers of so many Americans will,” Bush concluded.
Your neighbors at Preston Hollow People — staff members and frequent contributors — feel the weight of the moment and wish we could do more and do it better.
“Our hearts are broken for the anguish all the families and their friends are going through,” cookbook author and columnist Christy Rost told me. “I spent yesterday afternoon in prayer.”
Journalism has been described by the late Washington Post publisher Philip L. Graham and others as “the first rough draft of history.”
Regardless of who coined those words first, that’s a responsibility felt keenly by managing editors Claudia Carson-Habeeb and Sarah Hodges, and one they have sought to fulfill not just as journalists but as good neighbors.
Both have connections to some of the grieving and have persevered through motherly feelings to tell the stories of their communities.
I want to thank all who offered guidance, perspective, and sources in preparation for this issue, including founding editor Kirk Dooley, contributors Cade Hamner and Claire Collins, and former high school interns: Aadhya Yanamadala (Hockaday), Briar Bundy (Ursuline), Chloe Ching (HPHS), Dillon Wyatt (St. Mark’s), Emilea McCutchan (Ursuline), Juliet Allan (HPHS), and Kate Clark (Hockaday).
“This really is a tragedy unlike anything we’ve seen,” Dooley said.
In these printed pages and online at www.peoplenewspapers.com, find stories of neighbors seeking to help, to give, to comfort, and to remember, however they can. But we are far from reporting everything.
Out of respect for the families who have suffered most, we’ve honored requests for privacy by skipping funerals and, for the most part, resisting the temptation to raid obituaries published elsewhere for details about the young lives lost.
We also know our work isn’t done with one month’s newspaper nor the next online post.
As columnist Kersten Rettig puts it, “Waves of grief will continue to swell and so must our compassion and care.”
Some will find comfort in eventually sharing stories of lost loved ones and causes begun in their memories. We will be there to help.
Please let us know if there’s anything else we can do.
Contact editor William Taylor at [email protected], Claudia Carson-Habeeb at [email protected], and Sarah Hodges at [email protected].
Publisher’s note: Support local journalism and keep community stories alive. Your support helps us continue covering the neighborhoods you call home. Please contribute here.
