Those that know say there are two deaths. The first is your physical death, when your heart stops beating. The second is when the last person that remembers you forgets. The first is called death, the second is oblivion. Fear of oblivion drives many who realize that our passage on earth is brief. They build monuments, make works of art or have lots of children. Henry was so alive, its hard to imagine that he thought about death. But the fact he removed himself from this world reveals what he was hiding from all of us. He felt alone and un-appreciated. He was unable to feel the love we all had for him. He had a blindness to the impact he had on other people. What a huge mistake……..and we are living with the consequences. All we can do now is enjoy our memories, luckily so many in only 7,220 days, and share them. That way Henry’s oblivion will never come.
I look forward to hearing from you and sharing in this Museum your Henry stories and adventures.
But before I sign off I have to say a few more words about Henry’s mistake. There are no questions we can ask ourselves, be they about loneliness, depression, stress, illness or pain, to which the answer is suicide. If you are in that place, reach out. If you think someone you know is in that place, reach out to them. We are all each other’s safety net. Hopefully part of Henry’s legacy can be an awareness of the power of community and the shared responsibility that comes with being part of one.
Christophe Armero. Father of Henry.