Buckdog

I feel such sorrow for the families of those young people. Their world is irrevocably changed.

In my teens I lost a good friend in 1982 in a head on collision with a big rig on #16 west. Erv, his brother and sister, along with a family friend set out in Erv's old AMC Pacer for a day of skiing at Table Mountain. Erv, his sister, and his friend died instantly. His younger brother Paul survived with a serious and debilitating head injury.

Although the parents tried to put on a brave face, and find comfort from their faith, they were devastated. For years I regularly visited Paul, as much borne by a need to try and provide comfort to his family as to see him. Paul eventually ended up in Parkridge when his parents could no longer care for him.

I say all this because more than thirty years after that tragic January day I still think about it regularly, the sorrow seemingly fresh in my mind once again. There is something doubly tragic about the death of such young people, the fruit of their lives has been denied to the world. We are poorer for it. And we rightly grieve.

I hope that in time these families from Lloydminster are able to find refuge from the sorrow and the devastation of their loss, but it will never leave them. Of course they are not grieving alone. All of Canada shares their sorrow tonight.

I think the thing about your experience and this new one is that the victims were so, so young. They hadn't even had a chance to live the full human experience when their lives were ended. Add to that the fact that most young people are at a highly energetic and exciting part of their lives. Then ... nothing.
Very sad.

What struck me about this story comes from my own youth. Many, many times I was one of a horde of kids who crammed into a beat up old car .. going somewhere with a 16 or 17 year old driver. Nothing ever happened. We were fortunate. I was able to live the adult human experience.

Thanks.