Haven't responded to the Don Cornelius suicide for a reason....long before I knew about his demise...while I was on the plane...on my way to an academic conference...I found myself overcome with an overwhelming sadness...a prescient sadness...yes I believe we have the ability to foresee...to foreknow...we have been here before...so I flipped through the magazines...I leaned back...I put my headphones on and l listened to Usher (of all people)...but the tears kept coming...I was thinking about the elders...some with whom I have come in contact lately...who are being evicted from their homes...who are trying to sell their homes because they can no longer afford their homes...who are without homes...who are shut-in their homes...who encountered me on the street and asked for a couple of dollars just to make it through....who are facing debilitating illnesses...who are struggling to survive...who are struggling to maintain their dignity...who are struggling to walk...and these elders have been walking for a long time...they are long walkers...they have been walking all over the world...they are way-makers and thinkers...they are giants...and even though Don Cornelius...suffering the effects of a stroke...of congenital brain surgery...of marital rupture...even though he had sons who loved him...and friends who loved him...even though he lived in a mansion on Mullholland Drive...he took his own life at age 75...and it made me know...he was alone...very alone...and it made me wonder...where are we?