In 2 days, the anniversary of a friend's death will arrive once again. This will make 5 years since that tragic day, quite possibly one of the Top 3 worse days of my life. There is a chance that Jesse, my friend, could have walked away if he would have been wearing his seatbelt.
But alas, things were not so. When his truck started to roll in the freshly tilled tobacco field, he was ejected. His trucks then rolled over on top of him. He didn't die on the spot, but it left him basically brain dead, totally reliant on a vent for the rest of his life. Rather than see their son as a vegetable for the next 5, 10, 20, 30, 50+ years, they decided to pull the plug.
I was supposed to have meet up with him that morning at the local country store, well before the time of the accident. I blamed myself for years, that if I had just went to get that Mountain Dew, that he would be alive. That was a hard thing to forgive myself of, and it took several years. On top of that, I felt as if I had to remain strong for my other friends at high school. They needed the consolidation, and I could provide. Prideful of me to squash my own feelings, and it resulted in me breaking down in auto-mechanics the next day, laying on the floor bawling for over 45 minutes. It took 2/3 of a can of Grizzly dip to get me halfway calmed down.
I'm not sure why exactly I wrote all this. This is just what has flowed out from my fingers and onto the keyboard, for all to see. I guess subconsciously I hope that this story will persuade someone, if only one, to buckle up before hitting the road. I know I do.
Thank you Cd for posting this. And no, your man card is not revoked for tearing up
