Friday, July 07, 2006

Sadness on the Plains

I was all ready to tell you about the fantastic weekend that we had. And that's still coming, I promise. But today is much too sad of a day. Yesterday afternoon, a kid from around here was killed in a 4 wheeler accident. He was supposed to be a senior in high school this year. He was a star pitcher for the baseball team. And he was supposed to play in a Legion baseball game last night. But there was no game because he didn't wear a helmet when he was out playing on his 4 wheeler.

Apparently what happened is he was riding in a road ditch and going across a driveway. Somewhere after the driveway, he hit an embankment and the ATV slipped out from underneath him. Then it landed on top of him.

My heart hurts for a mom who has lost her baby. For a father that has lost his only son. And for a sister that lost her brother. For a class of tight-knit kids that are now one short.

But most of all, my heart hurts for the friend that was with this kid when it all happened. Because the friend will have a haunting picture with him for the rest of his life. Tons of "what if" scenarios will run through his head. And he will have to know that he was with someone when they died.

I want to do something. But I don't know the kid. I don't know the family. I think I maybe worked with his mom once upon a time, but I'm not for certain. I want to just go and wrap my arms around these people. I want it to be a teaching moment for the kids that knew him. I want to take the pain away from these people. And I know I can't. I know they will survive. But today, everyone is so sad, and I can't do anything about it.

So if you have kids, hug them extra tight tonight. You just never know what can happen.

6 comments:

Big Sky Girl AKA raeleighjo said...

Carrie my heart just hurts... and bad memories came flooding back... that's EXACTLY what happened to Cody, but he's still with us THANK GOD. My heart goes out to the family -- hug the superhero and diva extra tight for me. :) Take care.

CyberCelt said...

You did do something, you wrote a blog post about the event. If you want to do something else, each year at this time, right another post to remind us all that helmets save lives, ATVs are dangerous, and live is precious.

I thank God that someone was with that poor boy as he died. Think how awful to die alone...

You may also pray for that family and friends.

SupComTabz said...

Wow. Tragedy strikes everywhere... and there's nothing really that we can do or say - every moment is a gift, and every new minute we get a precious precious thing that should never be wasted. For there is no assurance you'll get another.

Liberal Banana said...

Oh, that is so sad...You know, I'm sure the family will appreciate hearing from anyone at all, even if you didn't know them - your kind words can bring them some comfort. Perhaps there's an address you can send a letter to? My neighbor who is 9 months pregnant was in a car accident yesterday - thankfully she and the baby are alright. It's so scary...

Joanna said...

Best thing you can do is send flowers and a card.

Anonymous said...

oh this made me so sad it ached.
it does make me want to hug my son tighter.