In that tiny Memphis hospital room, praying turned to pleading, pleading turned to cursing, and cursing turned to wordless screams. As the shouts and cries reverberated off the walls, deafeningly loud, the world remained deaf. Traffic bustled below the third story window. The sidewalks were flooded by tourists and locals alike. The rest of downtown payed no mind to the grief playing out just feet away. As our world crashed down, their world kept spinning. As the sky seemed to fall around us, the ground falling out beneath the feet that once stood upon it, to them it was just a Tuesday, Stand by Me had just hit theatres, and the day was sunny and warm. The injustice of it all was glaring. The sun didn’t stop shining, the world wasn’t knocked off its axis, and the Earth kept turning without her. 1973-1986 was plastered all over our dented bumpers, tattooed on our shoulders, and engrained into our minds. But, 1986-∞, the time we had without her, was burned into our hearts.