Gwen Ifill, 1955-2016

Gwen Ifill was my favorite news personality on TV, and now, today, I find out that she has died of cancer.  I am in shock.  I didn't even know that she was ill.  It was only a couple weeks ago that she was anchoring Washington Week on PBS, and also co-anchoring the PBS Newshour with Judy Woodruff.  As a black woman, she was a pioneer in television news.  The way she hosted Washington Week was smooth and professional.  She was incredibly intelligent and self-assured and knew how to control the flow of the conversation.  In fact, in the last few years she was at the very top of her game.  I am going to miss her every day for years to come.

Amazingly, at the age of 61 she looked like she was 40 or perhaps 45.  I had no idea that she was in her 60's.  I sell jewelry components on the internet, and she occasionally wore necklaces that looked like they were made from the beads that I sell.  It made me feel proud, even if it wasn't true.  I always noticed her clothes and her jewelry.  I noticed that she seemed to become more attractive as the years passed.  Her sense of style improved, and she looked neater and more professional.  She was gradually learning which hair styles and clothes made her look best.  I had already decided that I was going to send her a note to compliment her on her professionalism and appearance, but I didn't know that time was limited.  Assuming that she was no more than 45 years old, I thought I had lots of time.  I was so wrong.

In just the last week, these two events -- the election of Donald Trump and the death of Gwen Ifill -- have shaken my grasp on reality.  I don't understand a world in which bad people rise to the presidency and good people at the top of their profession die early.  I am broken-hearted.

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After writing the above paragraphs, I saw a picture of Gwen on the internet that showed the warmth of her personality, and I sobbed for ten minutes, and then continued to weep off and on for another half-hour.  She was such a huge part of my life.  I feel like I lost a mother or sister.  I am so  saddened by this.