When News Makes You Cry

I think it’s all getting got me. The news is hard to consume these days, and it is a tragedy that the sad news won’t stop.

Twice in last two days, news reports left me a sobbing mess, weeping alone for strangers I don’t know, but whose loss for some reason touches me.

It happened first during the MSNBC wrap-up of COVID-19 news. A report, “Inside One Nurse’s 13-hour Shift in the ICU Hot Zone,” followed the experience of one nurse—and she reported on the loss of a hospital employee. She chocked up, as did I.



Whew. Maybe it’s cleansing to shed some tears—but sadly, I’m afraid we’re in for way more cleansing in days ahead.

Then this morning, I was listening to “Morning Edition” on NPR, and they presented their remembrance of John Prine, the great American singer-songwriter.

“Hello in there.” Here comes the rain again.

The song itself, "Hello in There," is worth listening too, if you can handle it right now:



And, a few days ago, the co-founder of Fountains of Wayne, Adam Schlesinger, died. The cost of this pandemic continues to mount.

I have turned away from the news, to some extent, when I can’t handle it. Bike rides help. But I don’t want to unplug completely.

Credible news is something that’s being hit hard by this crisis—another round of retraction and layoffs is bound to hit American newsrooms.

Well, I’ll shed some tears today. But I will carry on and not lose hope.

In the wake of 9/11, Fountains of Wayne appeared on Conan O’Brien’s late-night TV show to sing a cover of a Kinks song. Conan replayed that clip recently—and it’s message is important, too, especially when the news makes me cry: