To drivers on the George Washington Bridge, Martin Morales probably looked like just another weekend warrior in his windbreaker and bicycle helmet, out for a ride in the suburbs across the river from New York City.
To his family, though, a selfie Morales snapped with the bridge towering overhead during one of the rides he loved is a reminder of just how far he had journeyed — from a remote village in southern Mexico to follow his older brother, Javier, to a new American life.
Then, the coronavirus extinguished both their lives, just a day apart. On April 6, Javier Morales, who immigrated to the U.S.
about 30 years ago and eventually became a citizen, died of complications from the infection at a New Jersey hospital. He was 48.