By: Kathy Whirity
The lyrics to the old song kept replaying in my mind: “We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun, but the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time.”
Bill and I were taking our evening walk. The weather was predictably hot and muggy for this July night. Children were out and about; playing ball, some riding bikes, others racing by on motorized scooters, and older teens hung out on corners enjoying the summer night and each other’s company.
As we walked we noticed another sign of summer — chalk outlines of hopscotch decorating front sidewalks. The sounds of summer could be heard in the laughter of these happy children. With school out and summer vacation in full swing, they had a lot to celebrate.
Before we knew it we reached our destination, my sister-in-law, Marie’s house. It was there we heard some shocking news. A young man from our Mt. Greenwood community had died as a result of being hit by an alleged drunk driver. I say alleged because he refused a breathalyzer test even though those at the scene distinctly smelled the strong odor of alcohol.
This is happening far too frequently — the grievous irresponsibility of overindulgence by imbibed individuals is killing and maiming our innocent children.
Alcohol is the evil culprit that sacrifices the safety of our kids as they play outside, in what should be safe surroundings. Drunk drivers strip our society of its security to let kid be kids and enjoy their time outdoors.
You never think it can happen to you. But then it hits home. A boy from the neighborhood gets killed; a great kid who went to school with my nieces. Suddenly, it puts a face to this nightmare epidemic.
The 4th of July is a day meant to celebrate America’s freedom. On the way home from fire works festivities that night we noticed a group of people, standing in a circle, lit candles in hand. It took me less than a second to realize that this was not a gathering of people celebrating the 4th of July. This was a quiet memorial for Andrew — the victim of a drunk driver. A thought came to me as I saw them all obviously comforting each other in prayer. Let freedom ring but let justice be served by those who choose to drink and drive, and kill.
There’s a pall in the summertime air in this community. The sound of children’s laughter is still carried on the warm summer breeze, but for parents the harsh reality has hit home. Once again it’s the innocent victim who succumbs to the deadly choice of a drunk driver who carelessly gets behind the wheel, turning his vehicle into a weapon of death and destruction. And, as is usually the case, he walks away unscathed, truly the biggest travesty of all.
Andrew was just a few blocks away from his house when he was struck. His father was by his side within minutes of the accident. What this greiving father wanted more than anything was to hug his son and tell him how much he loved him. Sadly, he never got the chance — Andrew never regained consciousness, and died two days later at Christ Hospital.
Our laws, all too often, seem to accommodate the criminal. When our children are senselessly dying at the hands of drunk drivers, society, as a whole, should demand better from our politicians, for this is insanity.
I cannot help but to think of Andrew as that old song continues to play in my head: “We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun, but the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time.”
Young Andrew didn’t run out of time, it was cruelly taken from him. There will will be no more seasons in the sun for a young man described as giving, caring, kind and outgoing.
All his dad wanted was to hug his son and tell him he loved him. In his shoes, is that not what any of us would’ve wanted? We never know what awaits our kids when they head out the door. We try to appease ourselves with thoughts that something like this will never happen to us. Then we hear this tragic news and we’re not so sure.
Don’t forget to hug your kids today — right this minute! Tell them you love them until they’re sick of hearing it and then tell them some more.
Let your words cover them like a verbal security blanket of assurance — wherever they go — for their sake and for your own sense of security, just in case there comes a day when you may not have the chance.
(c) 2005 Kathy Whirity
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Habit is most difficult to defeat. If you delete the
first letter, it does not change “a bit” Delete
another and you still have a “bit” left. Take off
still another and the whole of it remains. But
if you take off another, it is wholly used up.
Goes to prove if you want to get rid of a habit,
you must throw it off altogether. –Mandel
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