The scar left by Ben Christman’s death is measured in time, not distance. The lesion runs for years, not inches, from last February into a future with no foreseeable end to the ache. How long will the healing take? Ten years? Twenty? More likely the mark will last for as long as the Christman family lives and breathes. The initial wound occurred Feb. 11, 2025, when a phone call cut so deep that Brian Christman could not get through our conversation, a year later, without breaking down. “It’s a pretty tough day. They’re all tough right now,” Christman said, pausing. “I don’t want people to have to go through what we did.” Last February, a phone rang in Northeast Ohio and the voice on the...
