txminipinto
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- Dec 11, 2002
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This week has been a hard one here at work. In a very short time span, we've lost a student to a head on collision (she wasn't at fault) and a coworker lost her daughter to a single car, 3 person fatality. I want one thing from this post. I want every kid and 20 something to read it, take it to heart, and imagine the pain their parents would be going through if it happened to them.
A coworker, someone who sits just around the corner from me, lost her daughter last weekend to a STUPID childhood prank. Her daughter was 15 yrs old and by most accounts old enough to stay at home with some minimal supervision. T was going on vacation with her husband and wanted her daughter to go, but the daughter didn't want to. So, they struck a deal. She could stay home, but her dad (ex-husband) would be checking up on her. Thinking back to my own 15 yr old mind, I was a smart kid and responsible, but still inexperienced and not good at making mature decisions. This girl was smart, 6th in her class, a good kid, and had a future in front of her. She also had a boyfriend with an older brother who had made some wrong decisions in his life.
They were just looking for a good time. Doing things that I did when I was young and dumb. Lord knows that I realize how lucky I was. You see, surviving childhood just comes down to luck sometimes. We all do stupid stuff that we look back on and get a cold sweat when we realize how lucky we were. There was a party and there was alcohol. Kids, alcohol is dangerous. It takes someone who really isn't mature enough to make good decisions to begin with and completely impairs their ability to make any kind of decision. Adults kills themselves all the time behind the wheel; don't kid yourself into thinking that you are better at handling a vehicle drunk than any adult. You're not; adults aren't either.
They went for a joy ride at a high rate of speed. They lost control of the car, slammed into a tree, killing all 3 of them instantly. And thank god they died instantly, because then the car burst into flames. The accident/fire was so bad that they have had to use DNA and dental records to identify all 3 kids. Not a single parent has been able to view their child's body, kiss them one last time on the forehead, nothing. All they get to see is a closed casket and the knowledge that their kid died a horrible, preventable death.
This isn't about parents' raising their kids right. These were good homes. It's about kids making good decisions. To stay away from alcohol and drugs. To not get in a car with someone who is drunk. To think beyond what is happening now, but what could happen. I'm sure T's daughter didn't think her mother would be cutting her vacation short to come home bury her daughter. You are not invincible. You can get hurt and you can kill yourself or others. It's not you who ends up paying for your death with your life; it's your family and friends who pay for your death with their lives. There are so many people here that won't be the same ever again because a group of kids made a bad decision.
So, tomorrow, I'm going to funeral for a 15 yr old girl who had the world at her feet and lost it all over one bad decision.
A good rule of thumb: if the parents are gone, it's not a safe place to be no matter how old you are.
A coworker, someone who sits just around the corner from me, lost her daughter last weekend to a STUPID childhood prank. Her daughter was 15 yrs old and by most accounts old enough to stay at home with some minimal supervision. T was going on vacation with her husband and wanted her daughter to go, but the daughter didn't want to. So, they struck a deal. She could stay home, but her dad (ex-husband) would be checking up on her. Thinking back to my own 15 yr old mind, I was a smart kid and responsible, but still inexperienced and not good at making mature decisions. This girl was smart, 6th in her class, a good kid, and had a future in front of her. She also had a boyfriend with an older brother who had made some wrong decisions in his life.
They were just looking for a good time. Doing things that I did when I was young and dumb. Lord knows that I realize how lucky I was. You see, surviving childhood just comes down to luck sometimes. We all do stupid stuff that we look back on and get a cold sweat when we realize how lucky we were. There was a party and there was alcohol. Kids, alcohol is dangerous. It takes someone who really isn't mature enough to make good decisions to begin with and completely impairs their ability to make any kind of decision. Adults kills themselves all the time behind the wheel; don't kid yourself into thinking that you are better at handling a vehicle drunk than any adult. You're not; adults aren't either.
They went for a joy ride at a high rate of speed. They lost control of the car, slammed into a tree, killing all 3 of them instantly. And thank god they died instantly, because then the car burst into flames. The accident/fire was so bad that they have had to use DNA and dental records to identify all 3 kids. Not a single parent has been able to view their child's body, kiss them one last time on the forehead, nothing. All they get to see is a closed casket and the knowledge that their kid died a horrible, preventable death.
This isn't about parents' raising their kids right. These were good homes. It's about kids making good decisions. To stay away from alcohol and drugs. To not get in a car with someone who is drunk. To think beyond what is happening now, but what could happen. I'm sure T's daughter didn't think her mother would be cutting her vacation short to come home bury her daughter. You are not invincible. You can get hurt and you can kill yourself or others. It's not you who ends up paying for your death with your life; it's your family and friends who pay for your death with their lives. There are so many people here that won't be the same ever again because a group of kids made a bad decision.
So, tomorrow, I'm going to funeral for a 15 yr old girl who had the world at her feet and lost it all over one bad decision.
A good rule of thumb: if the parents are gone, it's not a safe place to be no matter how old you are.