(Please read this one) life is unbelievably short & precious

Most of you have probably heard about the Ukrainian plane that was shot down over Iran last week, with 176 people losing their lives.

I’m not one to get emotional about these things.

I consider my heart to be nice and black and cold.

However…

This one…well, it hits really close to home for me, because nearly every-other week, when going to my girl’s parents home, I see Ukrainian International Airlines flight attendants catching their shuttle bus out to the airport. They’re hard to miss in their bright yellow and blue uniforms. I could have literally seen some of the crew that were on the flight just a week or two ago, waiting outside the metro for their ride to the airport.

That, and because Ukraine is my adopted home country now, it just…yeah, hits close to home.

And then, I found out that one of my best buddies here actually knew and went to school with one of the flight attendants.

She was a 24 year old girl who was enjoying her life as a flight attendant (judging by her Instagram photos).

My friend said she was a very bright and friendly girl, too.

Anyways, I’ve got my own opinions behind all of the politics and that stuff, but I’ll keep that to myself, for now.

I do have an ask:

* As of now, the Ukrainian government has only agreed to give the victim’s families $8,000.

* I don’t know what the airline will give, but it’s not like the USA where they would be obligated to pay out signifiant sums for an accident of this nature

* (i.e. I can’t imagine it being any MORE than that $8,000 the government is giving, they certainly won’t be getting a $100,000 sum or anything of the sort)

* The Iranian government? WWIII will probably kick off before they’ll give a single cent out, even though they’ve now accepted responsibility…and good luck suing them.

Hence, my friend Sam here has set up a GoFundMe for Maria’s family.

If you have anything to give, it would be very much appreciated. If you do donate, no matter the amount, please hit reply to this email and send me your receipt, and I’ll send you over a little thank-you gift.

Here’s the link to the GoFundMe:

https://thisistrouble.com/Maria

Anyways, that’s all I got for today.

Just remember…life is short and precious.