THE GAME OF LIFE

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN GRAPHIC MATERIAL

My family (and I) are all still recovering from the events of Saturday. My parents were in a vehicle about a half hour ahead of Nick, Ward, and myself heading home over Blewett Pass. They were one of the first vehicles to come upon a terrible, horrific scene. A man on his motorcycle was hit by an oncoming car and killed. When my parents arrived at the scene of the accident my dad realized that the man had been decapitated and was laying there for all passerbys to see. My poor dad. He pulled a sleeping bag out of the back of the truck and covered the man's body, but not before being exposed to a scene that no person could be mentally prepared to encounter. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a paramedic, firefighter, police officer or soldier that comes to expect to see these kinds of things. My prayers go out to the family of that man, the driver of the vehicle who hit him, the emergency responders that had to deal with the situation, and to my parents whom have not slept since. The next day I was searching news websites for more information on the crash and realized that this was just one of many horrible events of the weekend -- there were stories of stabbings, drownings, fires, shootings, and just a tiny blurb of the accident that had such an effect on my family. So often we read these headlines and don't think another thought about it. There are so many very real, very difficult situations that families and friends have to come to terms with every single day. Be thankful for the days that we are given, for they are numbered and uncertain.

I am very thankful for my brother's decision to sell his motocrycle after seeing the aftermath of the accident. No amount of preparedness could have protected that man. I am glad that I won't have to watch Ward ride off into the sunset on one of those things again!

And to add yet another happy note to this post, the reason we were coming over the pass was that we had attended a funeral that morning in Enumclaw. A second cousin of mine, Jazmine Walker, lost her life to a rare form of brain cancer earlier this month. She was 23. She was also the captain of her cheerleading squad in high school, prom queen, a double major graduate of WSU, and working on her Masters degree all while undergoing surgeries and trial treatments with a big huge smile on her face. I think she was an amazing girl. I'm glad to know that she is in heaven now without pain and looking as beautiful as ever!

"Jazz"