Stories About Drinking & Driving

I hurried into the local department store to grab some last minute Christmas gifts. I looked at all the people and grumbled to myself. I would be in here forever and I just had so much to do. Christmas was beginning to become such a drag. I kinda wished that I could just sleep through Christmas. But I hurried the best I could through all the people to the toy department. Once again I kind of mumbled to myself at the prices of all these toys, and wondered if the grandkids would even play with them. I found myself in the doll aisle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a little boy about five years old holding a lovely doll. He kept touching her hair and he held her so gently. I could not seem to help myself. I just kept looking over at the little boy and wondered who the doll was for. I watched him turn to a woman and he called his aunt by name and said, "Are you sure I don't have enough money?" She replied a bit impatiently, "You know that you don't have enough money for it." The aunt told the little boy not to go anywhere that she had to go get some other things and would be back in a few minutes. And then she left the aisle. The boy continued to hold the doll. After a bit I asked the boy who the doll was for. He said, "It is the doll my sister wanted so badly for Christmas. She just knew that Santa would bring it." I told him that maybe Santa was going to bring it. He said "No Santa can't go where my sister is...I have to give the doll to my Mamma to take to her." I asked him where his sister was. He looked at me with the saddest eyes and said "She has gone to be with Jesus. My Daddy says that Mama is going to have to go to be with her. My heart nearly stopped beating. Then the boy looked at me again and said, "I told my Daddy to tell Mama not to go yet. I told him to tell her to wait till I got back from the store." Then he asked me if I wanted to see his picture. I told him I would love to. He pulled out some pictures he'd had taken at the front of the store. He said "I want my Mamma to take this with her so she don't ever forget me. I love my Mama so very much and I wish she did not have to leave me. But Daddy says she will need to be with my sister." I saw that the little boy had lowered his head and had grown so very quiet. While he was not looking I reached into my purse and pulled out a handful of bills. I asked the little boy, "Shall we count that money one more time?" He grew excited and said "Yes, I just know it has to be enough".So I slipped my money in with his and we began to count it. Of course it was plenty for the doll. He softly said, "Thank you Jesus, for giving me enough money." Then the boy said, "I just asked Jesus to give me enough money to buy this doll so Mama can take it with her to give to my sister. And he heard my prayer. I wanted to ask him for enough to buy my Mama a white rose, but I didn't ask him, but he gave me enough to buy the doll and a rose for my Mama. "She loves white roses so very, very much," In a few minutes the aunt came back and I wheeled my cart away. I could not keep from thinking about the little boy as I finished my shopping in a totally different spirit than when I had started. And I kept remembering a story I had seen in the newspaper several days earlier about a drunk driver hitting a car and killing a little girl and the Mother was in serious condition. The family was deciding on whether to remove the life support. Now surely this little boy did not belong with that story. Two days later read in the paper where the family had disconnected the life support and the young woman had died. I could not forget the little boy and just kept wondering if the two were somehow connected. Later that day, I could not help myself and I went out and bought some white roses and took them to the funeral home where the young woman was. There she was holding a lovely white rose, the beautiful doll, and the picture of the little boy in the store. I left there in tears, my life changed forever. The love that little boy had for his little sister and his mother was overwhelming. And in a split second a drunk driver had ripped the life of that little boy to pieces.
Author Unknown

Ways to spot a drunk driver:

Ways to spot a drunk driver:
A car can be a lethal weapon when operated by a drunk driver. A driver may be drunk if the vehicle:
Makes wide turns.
Straddles the center line or weaves back and forth.
Exceeds the speed limit or drives unusually slow.
Comes close to hitting another vehicle or object.
Drives off the road or into an oncoming lane of traffic.
Swerves, drifts or follows too closely.
Stops for no reason or turn abruptly or illegally.
Signals inconsistently or drives at night with no headlights.
Remember, drunk drivers are dangerous and my not be avoidable. If you suspect someone is driving drunk, keep your distance, jot down the license plate number and call the authorities.
Source: News & Notes from State Farm newsletter than came with our auto insurance bill. www.statefarm.com

Close to the door he paused to stand

Close to the door he paused to stand,
As he took his class ring off her hand.
All who were watching did not speak,
As a silent tear ran down his cheek.
And through his mind the memories ran,
Of the moments they walked and laughed in the sand,
But now her eyes were so terrible cold,
For he would never again have her to hold.
They watched in silence as he bent near,
And whispered the words..."I LOVE YOU" in her ear.
He touched her face and started to cry,
As he put on his ring and wanted to die.
And just then the wind began to blow,As they lowered her casket into the snow.
This is what happens to man alive,
When friends let friends drink and drive.

UnknownSubmitted by SueC

I Went to a Party Mom

"I went to a party, Mom"I went to a party,and remembered what you said.
You told me not to drink, Mom
so I had a sprite instead.I felt proud of myself,the way you said I would,that I didn't drink and drive,though some friends said I should.
I made a healthy choice,and your advice to me was right
as the party finally ended,and the kids drove out of sight.
I got into my car,sure to get home in one piece,I never knew what was coming, Mom
something I expected least.
Now I'm lying on the pavement,
And I hear the policeman say,"The kid that caused this wreck was
drunk,"Mom, His voice seems far away.
My own blood's all around me,as I try hard not to cry.
I can hear the paramedic say,"This girl is going to die."I'm sure the guy had no idea,while he was flying high,
because he chose to drink and drive,now I would have to die.
So why do people do it, Mom
Knowing that it ruins lives?
And now the pain is cutting me,like a hundred stabbing knives.
Tell sister not to be afraid, Mom
tell daddy to be brave,and when I go to heaven,
put "Daddy's Girl" on my grave.
Someone should have taught him,that its wrong to drink and drive.
Maybe if his parents had,I'd still be alive.My breath is getting shorter, MomI'm getting really scared.These are my final moments,and I'm so unprepared.I wish that you could hold me Mom,as I lie here and die.I wish that I could say I love you, MomSo I love you and good-bye.
Author Unknown -
SEE BELOW:
Letter from Kathie Drinkwater (nee Wilson) 4/17/05:
Hello everyone,I just read with interest the poem "I went to a party". I would just like to let you know that I am the author of this poem, and I wrote it in an English class in the mid 1980's at Solway College in New Zealand. The teacher at the time was rather taken with it, and I never thought much about it again until I heard it come over the radio a few years ago, and then started to circulate the internet. I have been unable to contact the teacher concerned to ask her how this all came about. A few of the terms in it have been changed to suit the American way of speech compared to how it was originally written. Nice to see it still going strong all these years later! :-)Kind regards,Kathie Drinkwater (nee Wilson)New Zealand