Former Senator Jean Carnahan (D) wrote on Twitter yesterday about her friend Joe Biden (D):

Jean Carnahan @Jean_Carnahan
I worked with @JoeBiden in the U.S. Senate. I’d like to share some thoughts about my time with him. 1/8
2:21 PM – 2 Apr 2019

I arrived in the U.S. Senate after losing my husband and son in a plane crash weeks earlier. As I stepped down from the platform, where I was sworn in by Vice President Gore, waiting at the landing was Joe Biden. 2/8

Joe had entered the Senate in 1973, weeks after experiencing the loss of his wife and daughter in a car crash. Joe didn’t know me, only my loss during the final days of the 2000 campaign for the Senate seat in Missouri. 3/8

Joe took both of my hands in his and looked me in the eye for a long while before he spoke. He said simply, “I know, I know.” For a brief moment we were two souls joined by a loss that changed our lives. After that, Joe would often pause to ask how I was getting along. 4/8

It was his empathy and encouragement more than that of any of my colleagues, that gave me strength to meet each day. And, yes, I sometimes, got a shoulder pat or even a head kiss. Joe has a deep desire to share in the lives of others—their grief, pain, and joy. 5/8

He reaches out through the human touch to connect and express those feelings. As Mother Teresa said, “People have forgotten what the human touch is, what it is to smile, for somebody to recognize them, somebody to wish them well.” 6/8

Joe has not forgotten this; it’s part of who he is. Like everything else about his big, Irish personality, he expresses those feelings with exuberance and sincerity. 7/8

It’s been said that healing from a loss is like having a pebble in your shoe. It’s always there, but you keep on walking. Joe, keep on walking. Our country needs a little humanity right now. 8/8