Gone but not forgotten

This isn't my normal blog post. It doesn't involve The Post, Times or Des Moines Register. What it does involve is the mass media's ability to impact a large number of people separated by distance.

You see, this past week, a young, talented individual with a great deal of potential was taken from us. Mason Dible, a senior in high school, suffered a brain injury after an accident on his longboard and passed away.

I learned of the news from my mother, got the details from friends back home. Mason was not a close friend of mine, but I do consider his brother and cousin among my closest friends. I have known them since high school and have had a great relationship with these great young men as coworkers and friends at my summer job back home.

After calling coworkers, I found that Mason's injury, and sudden, unfortunate death were all documented on a hospital Web site. I quickly visited this site. I was struck by the turn of both the journal entries and the messages on the site. The journal entries went from meekly optimistic, charting his progress, to sullen yet concise, telling of his passing on Thursday.

Still, the most impacting part of the site may fully be the messages by the people left behind. From classmates to family friends, individuals have left words for the family delivering messages of caring.

At first, I was emotionally aware of the timeline. So quickly, so sadly, in a matter of a day, the messages went from hope, from prayers, to consolation. This, I know, is a showing of the way the mass media is conveying the human processing of what happened quickly. Far too quickly.

Hours from home, I couldn't be with my friends, couldn't give them the hugs I wanted to, look in their eyes and try to convey how much I hoped my respect for our friendship would let them know I wanted so much to help them through. Mass media or not, I don't think this is possible in a time of such great loss.

Still, through this site, what I did see was a community of people, coming together, showing their support and their love during a time when words, eye contact, flowers...anything, just could not be enough.

Do I think that the mass media is all it could be? Of course not. I think, especially in our generation, we have let outlets such as messaging, Facebook, and other quick, to-the-point yet without-a-point means of communication suffice for what should me mature and life-defining moments. Yet, I think in a time of such utter confusion for a life taken so young, being able to see that so many others felt the same as me was comforting, even from hours away.

Mass communication will never take on the full responsiblity of truly being there for someone in a time of loss. Yet, at this time, I do know that it was an outlet for me. I looked at the site, saw the situation in the family's words, saw the application of the loss in the words of friends and knew I wasn't alone.

Mason would have lived a great life and I know he would have done great things. He had an amazing family that loved him and will miss him for the rest of their lives. I know it and now, even from so far away, I know I'm not alone.

Rest in peace, Mason. You are gone (far too soon) and far, far from forgotten.