EDITORIAL
BY KRISTOPHER SEALS
Hello Readers,
Not who you expected, right? Okay, let’s get to it.
Currently, Mr. Shah is on vacation, so I am writing this instead. I had all these things I wanted to convey in my first formal editorial in ages. Unfortunately, I would be remiss if I were to ignore the most pressing issue, which is the passing of Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver. Besides her historic election to the post with running mate Phil Murphy, she was the first African American female speaker of the New Jersey Assembly.
As Governor Phil Murphy was out of the country on a vacation with his family, Lt. Gov. Oliver was serving as Acting Governor per the duties of the position when the sitting governor is unavailable to act in that capacity. Then, on July 31, Oliver was hospitalized due to an undisclosed condition, thus making NJ Senate President Nicholas Scutari the Acting Governor.
Upon ascending to the post of Lieutenant Governor, Oliver gave her support to Britnee Timberlake, who earned her vacated assembly seat in an election afterwards. Oliver was 71, and as of press time, no cause of death has been given.
Speaking of people gone too soon. Paul Reubens passed away recently. He was better known by his lively character Pee-Wee Herman. Without giving away how old I am, I did see episodes of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse on Saturday mornings many years ago. A lot of well known celebrities visited the show, including the likes of Laurence Fishburne, S. Epatha Merkerson, and even a pint-sized Natasha Lyonne. There were even a couple of films in the 1980s featuring the character, with contributions from Tim Burton and Danny Elfman.
In addition to Pee-Wee Herman, Reubens appeared in films that included “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” and “Blow.” Reubens even revived Pee-Wee in the 2010s with a Broadway show and a TV movie. He died from complications from cancer at age 70.
Okay, so what is the transition from stuff like this? Well, I simply do not have one. Death is inexorably linked to the conclusion of life. I can only speak from the perspective of someone still alive after people have passed. Both of my parents are gone, which leaves me as the sole survivor of my immediate family. I have a brother, but he was born years before I was and already established himself as an adult hundreds of miles away. In fact, he is so far ahead of me in age that his daughter was born before I was, meaning that I am the uncle of someone older than me.
It is truly a strange feeling. Nonetheless, I manage. Whether it is the family of friends of Sheila Oliver, Paul Reubens, actor Angus Cloud, daredevil Remi Lucidi, cyclist Magnus White, wrestler Adrian Street, or anyone who died in the streets, life will go on. You just hope that the memories are warm and full of joy and wisdom.
Rest in peace to those who have been lost. May they find peace in the next stage.
Finally, in a bit of some breaking news, former President Donald Trump was indicted in the Jan. 6 investigation. To put the charges in simple terms, he was indicted for trying to subvert the election results. Right now, Trump is already facing charges in the New York hush money case, and charges in the Mar-a-Lago documents case. In addition to these, he is likely to be charged in the Georgia voting count case. I don’t know what’s crazier: the fact that a former president has multiple indictments in multiple states, or that despite all of that, he still has a puncher’s chance of getting reelected in 2024!
All thing considered, have a good week.
Mr. Shah will likely be doing this next time.
