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On Wednesday night/Thursday morning at around 2 am, I was still up since I am a night owl. I prefer that hour because it is peaceful and I can get more work done.
I was at my desk, which looks out onto the balcony via a side window. I like the view.
Then I heard a loud noise. I had no idea what it was, but loud noises are common around here since this is a densely populated area, and it is pretty busy 24/7.
My oldest heard the noise too, since the windows in her room are parallel to my desk window, and she came out to ask what it was.
Honestly, my first instinct was “gun,” even though the bang didn’t really sound like a gun. I would have rather it been a gunshot because I have heard those before, but this sound will never be erased from my brain.
Someone had jumped from the roof of our building, and what we heard was the sound of a body hitting the pavement below.
When we first looked out, thankfully, there is a tree there that partially blocked the scene. I realised what happened by the looks on the faces of the small crowd of people that were standing out there.
It led to about 8 hours of more than a dozen cop cars, police tape, tarps, and then finally the fire department to do the final cleanup.
I am so sad for everyone involved. Heartbroken for the person who chose this at 2 am while I was chuckling over a stupid tv show while working. I am mad at myself for not knowing instantly what happened and calling 911.
Later that day, I was forced to walk past the spot, and besides a slight discolouration to the cement, you would never know.
The fact that someone’s life and death can just be washed away from existence like that so quickly is sobering.
Life is just so fucked.
Weekly Reads and Some Videos:
Illustrated break-downs of how common objects work
As time passes, efforts to document the Tiananmen Square protests intensify.
Jan van Kessel’s Signature of Caterpillars and Snakes (1657)
This band turns hit songs into Medieval bangers. So good.
The 100 Greatest Bird Names of All Time
Why Wildfire Experts Are So Worried About This Year’s Fire Season
“Cameron’s World is a web-collage of text and images excavated from the buried neighbourhoods of archived GeoCities pages (1994–2009).”
I have shared this before, but it’s important to share repeatedly: “A Books Unbanned library card gives teens across the United States free digital access to ebooks and digital resources, including banned and challenged books — no matter where they live.”
Three Ways to Get Paid. This resonates.
Hear the First Book of Homer’s Iliad Read Aloud in the Original Greek. Fun fact: Ancient Greek is one of the languages that I have been studying. Not in depth, but a bit, along with Latin.
The First Live Performance of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
SHOP THE UK LINKS
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I am so sorry. What a devastating thing for you and your daughter to have to witness and how awful that the person felt so hopeless that it was the only option that they felt was left.