Tragic...

http://news14.com/content/local_news/589231/town-mourns-teens-killed-in-car-wreck/Default.aspx

The Jeffrey Alston Sr. interviewed in this article is my first cousin's son. As the article explains, Jeff's 16-year-old son was tragically killed along with 2 teenage friends in a car accident. Since their such a long distance away I don't get to visit with my (extremely large) family in North Carolina as much as I probably should, but of the times I've visited, Jeff is one of the relatives I've seen the most (especially when he still lived at his mom's and we stayed there on visits). I was even at his house on my last trip. He's a great guy, and I'm truly sad this happened.

Aside from the obvious sadness of any tragedy such as this, it inspires deep thought on other things. One thing is appreciation of the family and friends you have while they're here, because tomorrow is not promised. Having lost a parent at a relatively young age, I already had reality hit me over the head with that point, but other events continue to make that point. Putting off visits and words till next year assumes you know what's ahead and you don't.

Also, I'm wondering why the legal age to drink is 21 (which I think is actually a bit too high) but kids are driving without adult supervision at 16. A wrecklessly-driven vehicle has the power to do damage to everyone in the car AND those around them. And the tragic incident rate of young teenage drivers is really high. Maybe if there were more restrictions at a federal level more lives would be saved.