Drunk Driving
Drinking and driving is no laughing matter. Even ONE beer/alcoholic beverage can and WILL impair your driving abilities. I myself have never touched a single drop of any alcoholic beverage myself, and I am VERY proud of that fact. Sadly, there have been events in my life that shown me that messing with alcohol isn't good.
At age 15, four days before school was to start. We were set up at the local farmer's market selling fruits and veggies like we did every Saturday morning. When one of my teachers approached us and informed me that Jacob Valek had died in a car wreck in the early morning hours. I was confused at first, but soon logged into facebook and found out exactly who this was. This was the boy who asked for help in Spanish class, because he wanted to be a better student. The one who was an awesome track star, and always would go around saying "Sweet Vontage" until he learned in Spanish it would be "Dulce Vontage". This wasn't just some kid who lived in the same town. This was someone I knew, someone who I'd taken classes with. We weren't really friends, but I knew him. And at 15years old I saw exactly what drinking and driving could do. His little sports car, t-boned a hummer of people from Texas. He was going fast enough that he caused the HUMMER to roll. The accident, of course, was not without its fatalities. Jake was gone, as well as, the driver of the hummer. The passenger was paralyzed, and the passenger in the back was lucky to get away with only cuts and bruises.
I will never forget that school year, because in my English class I saw a woman cry that I'd never thought I would. That year, in that class, we had Jake's seat. The place were we knew he'd be if he was still with us. No one was allowed to sit in that sit, not in our class anyway....
Then, almost two years ago now, we lost Nate. I was informed, yet again, over facebook. I was told that Nate had been in an alcohol related accident, and he was dead. It hit me harder than Jake's accident, because I knew Nate better. We'd sat and talked, we were pretty close. Only later did I learn that Nate's alcohol blood level was 5times the legal limit at the time of the wreck. Several hours after he'd stopped drinking. Nate lost control of his vehicle when the road changed from pavement to gravel. His truck drove into a ditch where it end over end rolled about 5 times. Between the 4th and 5th roll, it threw him from the truck, and broke his neck. Nate was thrown about 50ft. I will NEVER forget the last thing we talked about, him getting his job and learning how to weld. How his life was going good, and he was all but set...and now he was gone.
After Nate's accident his mother and I have became very close. And we've helped each other in our mourning and grief. But nothing can dull the pain of losing a son, a brother, a friend. NOTHING can bring Nate back, EVER. The one cold bell of reality reminds us everyday that Nate is GONE, and he will NEVER be back. We have to go on living our lives without Nate, because of the choice he made to drink and drive....
The biggest thing these two had in common, was underage drinking. Nate was 19, and Jake 15. Their mother's had to bury them both. They will NEVER get to hold their baby boys again. To see another Christmas, birthday, anything. They'll never get to see their little men be dads, to see their grandchildren.....
Another thing they have in common, they weren't wearing their SEAT BELTS! If they'd have been wearing them, they might both still be here. Nate wouldn't have been thrown, and Jake maybe, just maybe, might still be here too....
Please remember to buckle up. And when you're drinking, willingly give up your keys BEFORE you start drinking. Make sure you can't get to them, so you can't drive drunk. If reading this wasn't strong enough to change your mind...take a peek at these:
At age 15, four days before school was to start. We were set up at the local farmer's market selling fruits and veggies like we did every Saturday morning. When one of my teachers approached us and informed me that Jacob Valek had died in a car wreck in the early morning hours. I was confused at first, but soon logged into facebook and found out exactly who this was. This was the boy who asked for help in Spanish class, because he wanted to be a better student. The one who was an awesome track star, and always would go around saying "Sweet Vontage" until he learned in Spanish it would be "Dulce Vontage". This wasn't just some kid who lived in the same town. This was someone I knew, someone who I'd taken classes with. We weren't really friends, but I knew him. And at 15years old I saw exactly what drinking and driving could do. His little sports car, t-boned a hummer of people from Texas. He was going fast enough that he caused the HUMMER to roll. The accident, of course, was not without its fatalities. Jake was gone, as well as, the driver of the hummer. The passenger was paralyzed, and the passenger in the back was lucky to get away with only cuts and bruises.
I will never forget that school year, because in my English class I saw a woman cry that I'd never thought I would. That year, in that class, we had Jake's seat. The place were we knew he'd be if he was still with us. No one was allowed to sit in that sit, not in our class anyway....
Then, almost two years ago now, we lost Nate. I was informed, yet again, over facebook. I was told that Nate had been in an alcohol related accident, and he was dead. It hit me harder than Jake's accident, because I knew Nate better. We'd sat and talked, we were pretty close. Only later did I learn that Nate's alcohol blood level was 5times the legal limit at the time of the wreck. Several hours after he'd stopped drinking. Nate lost control of his vehicle when the road changed from pavement to gravel. His truck drove into a ditch where it end over end rolled about 5 times. Between the 4th and 5th roll, it threw him from the truck, and broke his neck. Nate was thrown about 50ft. I will NEVER forget the last thing we talked about, him getting his job and learning how to weld. How his life was going good, and he was all but set...and now he was gone.
After Nate's accident his mother and I have became very close. And we've helped each other in our mourning and grief. But nothing can dull the pain of losing a son, a brother, a friend. NOTHING can bring Nate back, EVER. The one cold bell of reality reminds us everyday that Nate is GONE, and he will NEVER be back. We have to go on living our lives without Nate, because of the choice he made to drink and drive....
The biggest thing these two had in common, was underage drinking. Nate was 19, and Jake 15. Their mother's had to bury them both. They will NEVER get to hold their baby boys again. To see another Christmas, birthday, anything. They'll never get to see their little men be dads, to see their grandchildren.....
Another thing they have in common, they weren't wearing their SEAT BELTS! If they'd have been wearing them, they might both still be here. Nate wouldn't have been thrown, and Jake maybe, just maybe, might still be here too....
Please remember to buckle up. And when you're drinking, willingly give up your keys BEFORE you start drinking. Make sure you can't get to them, so you can't drive drunk. If reading this wasn't strong enough to change your mind...take a peek at these: