Tuesday, November 18, 2003

I found out on Friday that one of my friends growing up was killed in a car accident the night before. Initially, I was just in shock and wasn't really sure how to react or what to do. I called my brother to tell him and the silence over the phone that followed made the news a little more real. He was so quiet and said, "she's my age..." My friend had IM'd me while at work to tell me the news.

While I was calling my family and our mutual friends, I kept thinking, "I hope I'm not spreading a rumor...maybe it's a different girl" However, these thoughts disappeared when I heard news about her mother and the devastation she is going through along with reading another news article with her picture and name.

Although she was younger than the rest of us in our little 'group', she and my brother had no problem making their presence known among the group of 'older' kids. The rest of us were 9 and 10, while the two of them were 7. The older kids made up their own 'secret language' and wrote it down on a 3x5 index card and hid it in our bag. While we were playing on the playground, she and my brother devised a scheme to steal one of our cards and try to figure out what we were talking about. I haven't seen her in nearly a decade, yet the memory of her still sticks strong.

I know that she is in a better place and know now more than ever, how precious life is.

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