Bit Puzzled: What Else Does a 'Tragic Loss' Mean?

I wrote the post below last Friday... and then I didn't post it. Over the weekend, I've come to realize there are a number of people in my professional circle and beyond who have not experienced a death in their own family, nor amongst their friends. How is one to know how to respond to hearing the news of a death, regardless of their experience or a lack thereof? Amber's own family hadn't ever been to a funeral.

And in today's world, where everyday TV shows and movies make obscene gobs and gobs of money via stories featuring violence and murder, desensitizing us to the concepts of death and the dying, how are we to react when we encounter the real thing? Who am I to judge how people react to such news? Having now said this much, I'll share what I had written... but in the end, please remember my realizations...

FOREWARNING: This one's a lil' critical/angry.

The last couple months have honestly been a collective gamut of shit bag emotions. Ever since June 29th, life has been throwing us for loops, one week after another. Nonetheless, through it all I am most grateful for my honey-man, the angel boy-O, my friends and my loving family, and all else that we are blessed with. But without re-listing the laundry list of all that's gone wrong the last couple months, cuz that's not the point, I'll cut to the chase...

Since June 29th, I have missed nearly 5 weeks of work and I've learned in the since my 3 days back at work that many here have assumed it's been my back causing me problems all this time. Dozens have come to my office and they tell me they're glad to see me, and then several have asked how my back is and I say, "It's fine, thanks," but then they don't just get back to business... they either stand there waiting for me to offer an explanation of my absence from work or they explicitly press for more information. Now, I can understand this, whether it's coming from someone who knows me a lil' more personally than others or not; they want to know where I've been.

The first day back to work though, feeling terribly emotionally raw, whenever pressed for more information or met with a blank look, waiting for more info., I'd go ahead and share that we've had a tragic loss in our family. The variations in response to hearing my telling this has been outright puzzling. What else could a 'tragic loss' mean other than to say someone has died? Some have only stared back at me, expressionless, almost as if unimpressed, eyes blinking, ZERO signs of comprehension -- and it's not as if they're at a loss for words; they honestly seem unimpressed. And with a few I've encountered, unless I go on to explain in some kind of detail what had happened, they stand there and offer nothing remotely resembling sincere condolences.

When someone tells you there's been a tragic loss in their family, shouldn't those words immediately speak for themselves, requiring a sympathetic response? (shaking my head)