No, this is not
a bad or strange dream as the result of having gone to sleep after too heavy a dinner…
Actually,
I was perusing through the Yahoo News this morning and this came up, film and
all. Seems that a gentleman was about one mile off the coast of Florida,
quietly enjoying the moment while casting his lines… hoping, I’m sure, to get
some sort of finned swimming fella that could be cleaned and sautéed (or fried, baked or sushied) for a later
lunch.
Lo
and behold!! As he is looking around, here comes this non aquatic looking head
bobbing on the (luckily!) tranquil
waters of the gulf, quickly approaching his kayak. As he looks in disbelief, it
turns out to be a dog… not quite the trophy catch he might have expected. As he
turns and, with some effort brings the animal on to the small floating kayak,
he notices the poor four legged brute is shivering, hurt and quite upset (I would be upset also if I had to be
swimming in the middle of the ocean…) as he allows the gent to lug him on
the little “boat”, then just standing there and refusing to budge one inch,
once ensconced on the relative safety of this small platform.
The
gent (whose name escapes me now) kept
rubbing the newly found four legged friend, not only to dry the animal, but
also to bring some warmth to a body that was shivering and trembling. As it
turns out, the shivering was not only due to the cold but also to the very
traumatic –actually fatal- experience the animal and it’s (eventually identified) owner had just gone through.
It
seems the dog, property of a 53 year old lady, went for a walk with his lady; I
assume not only to enjoy the fresh air and the sunshine, but also to do
whatever dogs do outside because we humans prefer they do not do these inside our homes.
Unfortunately, as life is wont to arrange at times, there was another
individual who was also going to be at the same spot the unsuspecting pair of
walking dog and human would find themselves. A bloody, murdering drunken fool,
as it turned out.
Mr.
B. Talman, a 22 year old wonder, was on his way somewhere and actually -according to
the report- doing so fast trying to
get away from a scene where he had already been involved in another accident. A
man certainly not to be called an underachiever, Mr. Talman then proceeded to again lose control, plowing his car into Barney (the
pooch’s name, as it turns out) and his walking lady, a few road signals,
fences and, finally, a telephone post. Barney was hurt but, unfortunately, his
lady had the worst of it, dying as the result of this senseless sample of
totally reckless driving.
Why
reckless? It turns out that Mr. Talman was, allegedly, driving under the
influence of our friendly alcohol. Barney
was physically hurt, totally traumatized and blown out of its canine wits by
what happened, taking off and going into the gulf waters just to get away from
the crazy humans. Luckily for him, the kayak and its fishing owner were in his
path; otherwise, there would have probably been two fatalities resulting from
that event… when the dog was picked up, according to the gent who so did, it
was close to sheer exhaustion and about ready to go under. I cannot, and will
not say “accident” when referring to this particular happening. The word
“accident” entails fate and the twisting of otherwise normal hapennings under luck, circumstance
and moment. This particular incident was the result of someone drinking and
then, without a care in the world, going out and attempting to drive. And then, even after one accident, continuing on.
Yes,
the driver is being held for manslaughter, but this will not bring back
Barney’s owner. Or the other thousands of people who are victims of these senseless acts. As is the case in many drunk driving accidents, the fool who
causes it walks away. The receiving party often either dies as a result of the
injuries received, or becomes paralyzed, or –in the very least- becomes
traumatized.
I believe that the death penalty should be applicable in these cases, as it is applicable to willful homicide for that is what this is. Yet, in
most states, the charge will be manslaughter, which will be “paid off” with
“time served”. Is the death penalty too extreme? Well, so is the unnecessary death
of an innocent bystander and the repercussions this death will bring to a
family. And that, believe me, no amount of “time served” will cure.
How
many times will a death like this have to happen before we come to our senses?
Then again, this question begs that we are dealing with intelligent life; a
sentient entity which will blot out all his/her senses and then go out and
drive a 2-4,000 pound weapon, being only the luck of the “Russian roulette”
that which will determine who gets the final prize.
Please
think… if you drink… do not drive. If you drive, do not drink. Sounds simple,
right? Even makes sense… Then... why is it so difficult to accept?
Be
Well … Be Back!!!
Final Notes:
- Pray for those who are fighting an illness which
may take them away from their loved ones… Every request is heard, and
counts!!
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Otra Caja de Pandora”… The
Spanish language Blog… “otracaja.blogspot.com”
… Bienvenidos!!!
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