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Sunday, November 2, 2008

When Bad Things Happen

A friend called me yesterday morning to ask me if the person mentioned in the newspaper was the same person that was my buddy since 1989.

The person from the paper had been on the highway at 5 am Friday morning, weaving in and out of traffic in his BMW, and was suspected of forcing another vehicle to leave the highway, resulting in the death of the other driver. My friend was unhurt, but taken to the hospital and given a blood test for intoxication. His arrest, according to the paper, was for manslaughter by intoxication.

The details were right, so I knew it was him. Last time I saw him was at a Christmas party last year, when he took me to his bosses house. I tried to get his keys unsuccessfully that night, and was terrified the whole drive home. Since it brought back memories of my father driving drunk with his whole family in the car, I haven't spoken to him since.

So of course I'm full of guilty feelings. What if I had gotten the keys from him at Christmas and forced him to admit he had a problem? What if I at least stayed in contact with him?

So how do you support someone who has killed someone else? There but for the grace of God go I. How many times have I driven when I knew I shouldn't?

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