Published in the June 10-23, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Douglas A. Zuercher
Douglas Zuercher
Everyday, we place our lives in the hands of other people. When we drive, we trust others to not be drunk. When we go out to eat, we trust others not to mess with our food. When we go to school, we trust others to leave the guns and knives at home. We are willing to trust people with our lives because we, as a community, promote safety.
We teach our kids to be safe by telling them to “Wear a helmet!” and “Wash your hands!” We teach our teens to be safe by telling them to “Drive safely,” “Don’t use drugs.” “Stay away from alcohol,” and, probably the least favorite among teens, “Be careful around the [opposite sex]!” Eventually, those kids even grow up and tell their parents to be safe: “Dad. You have to take your medicine!” We are all constantly teaching each other the concepts of safety. So, what happens when someone puts safety on the backburner?
Something like this: It’s a beautiful Sunday morning in Iowa. You and your son are driving to a hunting spot, and in general it looks like it’s going to be a good day. The road is mostly clear at this time, and you can see just a few other cars. In the rear-view mirror, you can see the headlights of a car far behind you, and there is an oncoming car coming up.
“If Today Was Your Last Day” by Nickleback comes on the radio, so you turn the volume up a tad. You’re a bit into the song when you notice something odd.
That oncoming car looks like it is swerving a bit. Nope — scratch that — it’s swerving a lot. Now it’s crossing the road and coming straight at you! You turn the wheel, slam the break, but it’s too late. You hit head-on and everything goes black. You’ve died.
That is no random story made up from my imagination. That is what happened to my uncle, Lee, in 2009. The 21-year-old woman that hit him had been drinking just a bit too much. She got on the road, couldn’t keep control of her vehicle, and killed him. He had four children, and the youngest was only 5.
That 21-year-old woman made a mistake and put safety on the backburner. Not only did she kill a person, left four children fatherless, and a family devastated, but she also landed herself in jail. For reasons unknown to my family, she was held in jail until almost six months ago. She got herself five years of jail time.
During those five years, she could have got married, had kids, and started a life of her own. Instead, she spent them in a prison cell.
One person putting safety on the backburner caused this.
Don’t be that one person.
Douglas A. Zuercher is a 16-year-old home-schooled sophomore. He enjoys reading, participating in mixed martial arts classes and developing IOS mobile operating system applications.
