‘We are all in this together’

Re “A vigil for the living,” Column One, Jan. 16

I enjoyed this article about the unexpected company near the gravesite of staff writer Hector Becerra’s sister. I encountered the same situation at my father’s gravesite. When he was initially buried 10 years ago, it annoyed me to find people so close to his gravestone chatting among themselves. One day I arrived at the cemetery to find my father’s gravestone polished, and I realized that it had been done by the mother of the child buried next to my father. I finally acknowledged that we were all in this together. In a society in which death is such a forbidden topic, it’s reassuring to read of healthier ways to express one’s loss.

MELINDA TROTTER

Glendora