Depressing News Stories Make You Think

If you’ll indulge me for a few minutes, I’d like very much to put on my Mother Hen apron.  Oh, who the cluck am I kidding, I never take it off.

There have been so many tragic stories lately, seemingly even more than usual.  They’re made all the more tragic because they could have been prevented.  I’m not going into deep details or particulars because, frankly, I’ll drown in tears if I spend too much time alone with the heartache.  But I did want to call your attention to and remind you of a couple of things.

I hope that you’ll not only let it sink into your own psyche, but that’ll you’ll spread the thoughts to everyone you love.  Yes, I’m asking you to put on your own version of an apron…then to spread it over as many people as you can.

In Texas, a 5 year old boy was hit and killed by a train.  He and a few others were playing on the tracks when they saw the train coming.  The others were able to get away, but the little guy’s foot got stuck and he was trapped.  I know there’s only so much we can do to protect our children, but there are certain things that they have to, have to, have to know are NO NOs - NO NOs to the tune of “If you so much as get anywhere near that train track, not only will you not be watching tv, playing video games or getting anywhere near the computer - you’ll be doing everyone in the house’s chores.  Standing, because sitting won’t be an option.”

I just flashed back to a squeaky woman’s voice shreiking on a morning news show years ago about spankings being “violent” and about yelling at kids “infinging on their rights.” Her way of thinking has created a generation of people who don’t want to answer for anything or to anyone.  And I digress.

If you know anyone with children - even if they don’t LIVE near railroad tracks - I hope you’ll encourage them to let their little ones know about the danger.

Another tragedy also involved young people.  When I heard it on the radio, all I could say was “Damn.”  A group of college kids were at a weekend house in North Carolina.  A fire started at night and killed 7 of the young people.  Officials have said that the fire was “accidental” but haven’t released any more information.  Whether it was candles, cigarettes, or something else remains to be seen - but the odds are incredibly high that it was a result of someone not paying close enough attention or exercising enough caution.

Kids aren’t the only ones who drop the ball when it comes to fire hazards.  Just about all of us, at one time or another, leaves a curling iron plugged in, a candle burning, the iron left on, etc.  Fortunately, most of us are lucky enough to live long enough to feel ridiculously careless and vow to be more cautious in the future.

Vows we should keep.  Remind everyone you know (older, younger…doesn’t matter) that just one tiny lapse in caution can cost you your life.  Will you sound like a “nag?”  No, you’ll sound like someone who cares.  And even if you did sound like a nag, if it saved a life, do you really care?!  An older woman who worked at my daughters’ pre-school when they were 3 and 4 once told another woman and I that she thought we were overprotective (we made our children wear seatbelts and kept them home when they had fevers = we were overprotective).  I told her “I can live with that.”  The other lady said, “Better than being underprotective,” then we went to help our daughters on with their coats, scarves, and gloves as we walked them to their seatbelts, before driving them home to their soup and hot chocolate. I guess we all handle our treasures differently.

When senseless tragedies hit the news, take the opportunity to talk about them to the people you treasure. There isn’t a better act of love than that.