“Redding Up” a City
Read more articles on Life's Nuances and Let Me Share With You.September 4, 2006
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
September 4, 2006
Posted by Karen Amato Schwartz
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It has been a sad few months for Pittsburgh.
Our beloved mayor of 8 months, who had finally achieved his dream after 2 unsuccessful runs for office, passed away this weekend at age 61. It just goes to show how ironic life can be.
Bob O’Connor lived, worked and worshipped in pretty much the same neighborhood for his entire life, and was in love with the city and its people. Everyone who knew him personally saw him as a wonderful person; many who never met him did so as well.
It’s said that what would be a 2 minute walk down the street would take Bob O’Connor 10 minutes, because people would stop and talk to him, and he never refused to comply. A mark of his humbleness was Mr. O’Connor’s standing on a busy street the day after his election, with a big sign saying,”Thank you, Pittsburgh”. That’s the kind of guy he was.
In his 6 months as mayor, Bob O’Connor began his campaign promise to clean up the city; the term used here is “redd up”. He was successful at these efforts, and one can only wonder how much more he could have accomplished had a rare form of brain cancer not struck him down so suddenly. Entering the hospital in July, no one had any idea of the diagnosis, and the city has been praying for his recovery for the last 6 weeks. Bob O’Connor’s one son is a local priest and his words of support to the community were often televised, as was his other son’s daily departure from the hospital, giving media the “thumbs up”.
As his condition rapidly deteriorated last week, Pittsburgh braced itself. When an announcement came on Friday night, the outpouring of sympathy was widespread and heartfelt. Thousands have waited in line to pay their respects in a government building where he lies in state, and dozens of memorial flower bouquets are mixed in with brooms, symbolic of clean sweeps to “redd up”.
Today’s Labor Day parade is in memory and tribute to Bob O’Connor. As one mourner put it, Heaven apparently needs some “redding up” to have taken our wonderful mayor so early.
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