On Friday morning, Rhode Island state attorney general Patrick Lynch stepped to the podium of a news conference and declared:
“They say that in the world there’s six degrees of separation. In Rhode Island, it’s more like one and a half degrees.”
He wasn’t lying.
Those Rhode Island reporters present didn’t need to know this. They knew it already. It was the mass media, the FOX news, the CNN reporters who had probably never even heard of West Warwick, RI, who needed to be told.
Maybe I’m biased, but I think Rhode Island has more character per square mile than any other state in the union. Only in Rhode Island is 20 minutes away “the boonies.” Only in Rhode Island is a “cabinet” a milkshake and a “bubbla” what everyone else calls a water fountain. Only in Rhode Island do we frequently refer to places as where something else “used to be.” (You might have seen R.I. Governor Don Carcieri referring to the Station night club as where an Italian restaurant used to be). Some people say that Rhode Islanders have the same accent as New Yorkers or Bostonians, but I say it’s a Rhode Island accent.
When I saw that one of my roommates this year was from Smithfield, R.I., I was excited, because my dad worked in Smithfield. In some states this would mean nothing. But sure enough that “one and a half degrees” was that my father had taught her good friend tennis while in high school. In Rhode Island, that is the only connection we needed. It’s like we knew each other forever.
So when I heard about the fire in Warwick that had claimed the lives of so many Rhode Islanders I didn’t think, “Oh I wonder if I know anybody,” I thought, “Who do I know?”
On any other night with any other band, I have several friends that would have attended this club and it wrenches me to think of this possibility. As it is, a friend of mine from high school’s sister is missing and my heart goes out to him. One and a half degrees …
My point in all this? Understanding.
Understanding that, to Rhode Island, this is a death toll equivalent to September 11. There are 1,000,000 Rhode Islanders and 20,000,000 New Yorkers – 100 multiplied by 20 equals 2,000 – the same amount of people that died in the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. Granted this is not a terrorist act, but it was unexpected, and those involved were unprepared. In today’s world, 100 people can be considered a “small” loss of life, but to Rhode Island, it is a calculable segment of our tiny population.
This story will lose its spot on the front page soon, and as a journalism major, I can understand that it is just the business. Bigger, better, and hopefully, brighter news will be the headline by tomorrow. But just know, that this tragedy will be spoken of every day by someone in my home state. A hole has been dug in our community and the state’s collective heart has been broken.
I know that Massachusetts certainly doesn’t qualify as a BIG state, and that those who live here certainly have an understanding of what its like to be small, but I think it is different for Rhode Island. It is our “claim to fame,” the smallest state in the country. And I am proud to be from where I am. I have always been and I always will be. Rhode Island should be known as the greatest little state in the country, even though some people actually believe it is an island off the coast of New York. And for you Rhode Islanders, I know you understand.
– Emily Werchadlo is a sophomore
journalism major and a member
of the News staff.
