Two newspaper articles about the deaths of people whose deaths would generally go unreported captured my attention recently.
The first profiles George Bell, of New York City. It also provides an in-depth look at the entire process of dying alone in New York City.
The second profiles Phil Schultz, of Philadelphia.
I hope both men have found peace in the afterlife.
The Lonely Death of George Bell
Written by N.R. Kleinfield, with photographs by Josh Haneroct, for The New York Times
They found him in the living room, crumpled up on the mottled carpet. The police did. Sniffing a fetid odor, a neighbor had called 911. The apartment was in north-central Queens, in an unassertive building on 79th Street in Jackson Heights.
Read the rest of this article, and this behind-the-scenes look at how it came together.
The Man Who Died Upright on a Rittenhouse Square Bench
Written by Matt Gelb for the Philadelphia Inquirer
Phil Schultz died sitting upright on a Rittenhouse Square bench that faced multimillion-dollar homes in the city he had roamed for more than a decade.
A woman found him there about 9:30 a.m. Oct. 14. Three people from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, including the Rev. Sean Mullen, hurried two blocks up Locust Street after a parishioner recognized Phil’s distinctive white, bushy beard.
Read the rest of this article.
Erik Arneson 