Photo of the day - A Memorial

Stephanie Curry, 16; Devon Spurlock, 19; Erica Haudek, 15; Jordan Michalak, 16.

I don't know any of these kids, but my heart goes out to their families this morning. All four teens were killed Monday night by a drunk driver who had started her St. Paddy's Day festivities early. This morning's Free Press contained details of the accident, profiles on each of the kids, photos of their mourning parents and classmates... and all I feel is anger and grief. I like to celebrate St. Paddy's too, I wear the green, I'll even have a drink or two, but I value the lives of those around me (and my own) too much to even pretend to impair my own judgment so much that I would get behind the wheel of a car and take other people's lives into my own hands. I am angry with the driver who decided that (even after her friends asked her not to drive home) she should get in her car and turn the keys in the ignition. I am angry that she was so selfish and stupid that she took the lives of 4 kids, and put her own life at risk as well. She has destroyed thousands of families due to a single bad decision. I'm not only angry with her though. I'm angry with her friends who the FREEP claim asked her not to drive herself home. I'm angry that they didn't take her keys away, offer to drive her home, or call her a cab. Most of us have been in situations at some point or another where we have turned a blind eye to a friend getting behind the wheel who we know shouldn't... I've done it myself, I regret to say. I am thankful that my blind eye has not resulted in a nightmare phone call, but you can believe that from now on, I will be keeping both eyes open. It's sad that people treat it as a tired cliche now, but it's true: Friends don't let friends drive drunk.

One thing that has always fascinated me about the Catholic Church is their extreme respect and honoring of the dead. Most of us feel we need to go through the grieving process quickly. We need to go through the various ceremonies, wait a couple of weeks, but then we're expected to move on with our lives. We get the exception of special anniversaries (birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc), but for the most part, society doesn't want to deal with it. I respect the fact that the Catholic Church gives an outlet for people to remember and honor the dead, no matter how long they've been gone.

I took today's photo at a cathedral in Mexico City last spring. I was in town for a senior leadership meeting for one of our clients, and a group of us decided to walk the 4-5 blocks down from the hotel to the cathedral. There was a lot of historical stuff wrapped around this particular cathedral, but I'm afraid I don't remember any of it. I was so taken by the beauty of the building that I couldn't focus much on the little plaques with dates and names and facts (normally I love reading those too, but I was just too artsy this time).

I want to dedicate this photo, and each of the candles in it to Stephanie, Jordan, Erica and Devon, and to their friends and families who have been absolutely blindsided this week by an experience that no one should ever have to have.

Please let this entry be a reminder to you all that we are all human, and therefore we all make mistakes. It is however also our duty as humans to look out for one another, and to try our best to help those who are unable to help themselves.