Last year I took a class called “Covering a Pandemic” and the focus of the class was how to break a story as it was unfolding in front of your eyes. The final assignment in the class was an interview with someone we thought had a unique perspective on the pandemic. I chose a coworker of my mom's, a woman named Magaly Rocuant. She works near my mom and I had briefly spoken to her about her home life before and I was interested to know more. We set up a time that worked for both of us and I drove to Plantation to see her. She welcomed me into her home and we spoke for an hour about her life story. She was born in Chile and moved here, met her husband and had two sons. In the years after their marriage, her husband was diagnosed with a disease that caused him to go into kidney failure. They then found out her son had the same disease. The son and father would do dialysis together and were particularly worried about Covid because both the son and her husband received kidney transplants during Covid.
I wrote the article, got my grade, and thought that was the end of the story; a happily ever after. Despite all odds, this family made it through their challenges and they are stronger because of it. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of the story. I received a call from my mom a week ago to tell me Magaly’s husband was in the hospital and it wasn’t looking good. He has contracted Covid and they were all praying for him. I had heard this call before, but last time it was four years ago before my dad passed away. I hoped and prayed that Magaly wouldn’t lose her husband, but Carlos’ weak immune system couldn’t hold up against Pneumonia and Covid. He sadly passed away a few days after, leaving behind a loving wife and two sons, along with so many others who care about him. I attended the funeral this morning and realized how rich and amazing his life was. His sons spoke so highly of him and their friends and family were distraught.
You may be wondering, what does this have to do with me? Well, on the surface it doesn’t. I sat alone in the back of the church and wondered what had brought me to the funeral. My mom, who sees Magaly at work day after day, couldn't make it,so why did I drive 40 minutes to be in a room full of strangers? There were a few reasons as to why I care.
First of all, when I tell you Magaly is the sweetest person ever, I am not exaggerating. She is a salt of the earth person and overall an amazing treasure to see. She lights up the room with her bright yellow eyes and black hair. Her aura and presence is unmatched and even though we have a simple relationship, I do cherish it. So I felt a responsibility to be there and support her when she needs it most. Another reason why I was interested was because during our interview last year I asked if she was religious and she said she was a religious mormon. I had never met a mormon or interacted with one. I had always fed into the belief that they are an odd subsection of christians that have multiple wives. I was shocked when she told me about her faith and was intrigued more than anything.
When I heard there was going to be a funeral I wondered what it would look like. I wondered if it would differ greatly from my dads. Jews are weird in the sense that they don't like to make funerals a fancy thing. We are put into wooden boxes and lowered into the ground to rest until our messiah comes and brings us back. I was interested to know if it was going to be similar in any way to my experience. When I arrived, I heard church organs playing throughout the walls of the building. When I got inside I took a look around and observed all that was around me. There were rows filled with mourners and family of the deceased. The following hours were filled with heartfelt tributes to Carlos and a few of his favorite Hymns from the Mormon Church. And from those two hours I spent being quiet and taking in all that was in the four walls of the room I realized something of great value. We are all the same. No matter what religion, ethnicity, race, gender. We all mourn the same and we all bleed red. Our fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, and kids are just people. They have their own triumphs and tribulations and they see the world differently but yearn for the same thing: love.
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