I have told a number of people over time that I am a true child of media. The MTV generation for sure. I have this weird collection of film clips and quotes stuck in my head that pop up all the time in reference to other things.

An example is from Conan The Barbarian, the 1982 film with Arnold and James Earl Jones. The ‘riddle of steel’ scene always stuck with me. “What is steel compared to the hand that wields it?” They call it the power of flesh, but it is about the people and how they’re connected.

Rebecca, in her life, wielded great power. She wasn’t interested in being some kind of cult leader, she just knew that people needed to be together. She connected with people, sometimes even when they didn’t particularly feel like they wanted it. Sometimes when they didn’t feel they deserved it. She was direct and clear about who she was, and brought that to her relationships as well. People were drawn to her.

On the day of Rebecca’s celebration of rememberance a stranger to all of us walked in. He introduced himself and gave me a card with a letter inside. I was stunned. Here was a man who had been walking past the funeral home and saw the announcement of the celebration by chance. As it turned out, he did know Rebecca. 36 years ago Rebecca saw somebody who needed a friend and extended her power. She reached out to a ‘loner’ and made such an impression that decades later she was important to him.

I’m sharing the (slightly redacted) letter here because I think it’s important to speak to the power of connecting with people. Rebecca was special in that way, and we need her kind of power more than ever now. Reach out to people. Connect. Show your love. Take those chances. It might matter more than you will ever know.