UA student: My grandmother deserved better than 'goodbye' through a window [View all]

[babylonsister]

UA student: My grandmother deserved better than 'goodbye' through a window
As coronavirus took my grandmother, I screamed 'I love you' through the window of her Tucson nursing home
By Anika Pasilis Special to the Arizona Daily Star May 17, 2020
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

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“I’m sorry for your loss,” a million and one people have told me. I can’t accept that. It wasn’t just my loss, it was everyone’s.

Sally wasn’t the “milk and cookies” kind of grandma. Until very recently, she very rarely told me, “I love you.” Instead, she took me on grand adventures around Tucson. Together, we swam like fish in the pool and watched the sun burst into thousands of colors across the sky.

Before she was a grandmother, she was a freedom rider. In her youth, she was beaten and arrested by the police for protesting.

“I once saw a girl with all her teeth kicked out,” she recalled. “I was afraid that would happen to me, too.” Thankfully, she kept her teeth but spent a good amount of time in jail.

One of the most triumphant moments of her life was when she and her fellow freedom riders went to a church and the congregants all stood and cheered. She said Oprah wanted to interview her, but she didn’t want to be on television.

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https://tucson.com/opinion/local/ua-student-my-grandmother-deserved-better-than-goodbye-through-a-window/article_73c7c03e-0526-5ae3-9c15-27437732599c.html