A 63-year-old Duke employee died last Wednesday, May 14th, in a freak steam explosion at the Duke University Levine Science Research Center.

According to the Chronicle newspaper, "[Rayford] Cofer, a master steam fitter and employee in Duke's Facilities Management Department since 2001, was working in a mechanical room in the LSRC's basement when a steam line ruptured just before 3 p.m."

In spite of never knowing this man and probably never having seen him before, I still feel a sense of connection to this man, who worked for five years just yards away from where I studied and dined.  I take a minute to honor this man who I know nothing about.  I know not a thing about what he dreamed of, what he feared, what was memorable about his childhood...not even what he would have at breakfast with his coffee.  But as a fellow human being, I can empathize with the quintessential human condition of forever facing the unknown.  Pass on, Rayford, to the next world.

Love,

Awful.falafel.