Home Can Be Home Even If You've Never Seen It

I wrote yesterday about the pointlessness second- and third-generation Irish-Americans paying $20 for a bag of Irish dirt. The counterpoint to all this is poor Mamadou Soumare, who lost his family to that Bronx fire. On Sunday, the father buried his wife and kids in Mali:

As his wife and children were being buried, Mamadou Soumare showed little emotion, until the graves were completely covered. His mouth fell open. He raised his hand to his face and shook his head in seeming disbelief.

None of the children had been to Mali when they were alive, and now, in death they were united with an extended family they never knew.

This is real. A real crutch, a real ritual, a family link with a heartbeat still in it.