Father’s Day weekend, bad weather and all. SU had to work (from home) on Saturday, so I basically had the entire day free. Just about got the pool straightened out, best it’s looked in awhile. Should be pretty as well as usable now. After that, I decided to drive out to the sight of the tragic accident in Baytown, where four kids were killed after sneaking out at night and stealing two cars.
There were two makeshift memorials set up, one large one on the west side of the tracks and one small one on the east side, where the Jeep ended up in the ditch. As I walked around, trying to make sense of how this could happen, it just didn’t add up. It is just over a quarter mile from the closest intersection to the tracks. The street is narrow and very rough, I didn’t even like going 30 mph down it. And the section of street after the tracks is very short, about a tenth of a mile before ending in a T.
What didn’t make sense was that the kid that stole the Jeep, although only 15 and with no license, had been driving for some time, taking his mom’s car out after she went to bed. So he would have known about this street, the tracks and the short stretch on the other side. The initial reporting was that the teens were out joy riding and then rushing the 12 year old home. Even if they were doing that, they would not have been going fast enough on this particular street to cause the type of damage that occurred.
Yesterday morning, a report came out that made sense of it all. The kid was intentionally going as fast as he could, in an attempt to hit the tracks and go up in the air. Hey, I’ve done it. That makes sense as to why he was traveling fast enough to force the Jeep under a tank car and through to the other side. The kid that stole the Jeep and his front seat passenger saw the train and ducked, the impact forcing the front end down (thus saving them), leaving the kids in the back seat completely vulnerable.
Why recount this? So that I can remember how important fathers are, even if we live in a society that equates fatherhood with Homer Simpson. If the father of Bobby Davis had been involved in his life, had taken the time to nurture and teach his son right from wrong, this accident would have never happened. If the fathers of the kids that were out with them had taken the time to nurture and teach their children right from wrong, they would be alive today.
As fathers, God entrusts us with his precious creation. We must, as a society, return fathers to their rightful place in the family, as the leader and guide. For many reasons, we have allowed fathers to abdicate that role and replaced it with big government. Need money? Need education? Need food? Need a roof over your head? Each of these are the proper function of the husband and father. Each of these has been replaced by government in large sections of our society. We must reverse this.
Back to Father’s Day, like I said, it was great. 2 came in from Austin just for me! 1 gave me a card that brought tears to my eyes. SU reinforced the direction we’ve taken as a family. We all went to lunch after church with Pop, SSh, BT, Karla and Coop. Very nice way to spend the day.
Class was great; it felt like I’d missed years even though it was but one Sunday. The material we are using is incredible and hits home every week. BIL is almost all the way back from his disabilities and played the guitar for us. Awesome. Make a choice today, are you going to make a difference?
The sermon “Sad Dad” was definitely the best Father’s Day message I have heard. Wow! What a responsibility God has given the Father’s! Whew….