It was about 25 years ago when my uncle John, and cousins Donny, Dennis and Terry left for an evening of drinking to celebrate the holidays. In the wee hours of the morning Terry’s T-top car left the road and slammed into a large tree — roof first — killing everyone but Dennis.
The boys were all in their late teens or early 20s — such an incredible tragedy. Donny and Dennis were brothers and all of them lived within a few miles of each other.
I remember my Mother waking me up very early in the morning and told me to get dressed. When I asked her why, she said John had been killed in a car accident. I didn’t realize until later that Donny and Terry had been killed as well.
I was young then and nobody expected me to deal with it. I don’t know if anyone even asked me how I felt about it. I’m sure my mother and father did — they are good like that. I was too young for it to really bother me anyway.
Every year since then, my Mother’s family gets together to light a tree on my Grandmother’s yard in memory of John. My Mother has 13 brothers and sisters and they all have an average of three kids, so it’s quite a gathering.
It always makes me think how lucky I am and how quickly things can change.
December 25th, 2005 at 12:24 pm
A sad and sobering story, Jim… gives real meaning to the phrase “live every day as if it were your last”.
… and DON’T drink and drive!!!
December 26th, 2005 at 1:03 pm
It’s sobering every single year. They treat it as a celebration though, so it’s a happy occassion.
December 26th, 2005 at 11:44 pm
These things leave footprints on our lives and mold our personalities. My father had an older brother, John, who was killed by a truck at age 12. He doesn’t mention his brother much, although I was named after him (among a couple of others) and seventy years on, I believe my Dad still thinks of him.
February 18th, 2006 at 9:23 am
Hi Jim,
I find it comforting to know that when my time comes, my family will continue to celebrate my life. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of my brother John and the very last time I saw him. It makes me smile…
We are extremly fortunate to belong to a large family. See you at the next family gathering.