TUMBLR

A SCRAPBOOK OF STUFF I'M READING / LISTENING TO / LOOKING AT.

Oct 01, 2010

» Dignifiying a dead dishwasher's life

From the St. Petersberg Times, a lovely portrait of Neil Alan Smith, a dishwasher at the local Crab Shack who was struck by a car while riding on his bike:

Shortly after the St. Petersburg Times announced Mr. Smith’s death on its website, a reader posted a comment stating the following: A man who is working as a dishwasher at the Crab Shack at the age of 48 is surely better off dead.
Web editors removed the comment, deeming it an offensive and insensitive insult to a dead man’s friends and family. Though hardly unusual — check out the comments beneath stories about any recent tragedy — this one spurred the Times to make Mr. Smith the subject of this story, as a reminder that every life matters.

A beautiful piece of writing.

(Thanks to @sct)