Lives Cut Short, Continued

Seems LB had her bail revoked, the result of violating her probation on the February 2005 drug charge. She will be locked up at least until her April 3 hearing. It's just mind-numbing.

I've stayed close friends with another former co-worker from the days when I worked with LB. Mac went to work for a company that does business with my company, so we still see each other pretty regularly. He's the friend I called yesterday, before I knew the LB on the news was the LB we knew. Mac called me this afternoon and said that he couldn't stop thinking about it. He was driving his wife crazy because it was all he could talk about. Just over a year ago, we all got together to reminisce about old times. At the end of the night, I followed LB across the street to the gas station to help her pump gas. Believe it or not, she'd never used a self serve station before! Driving home that night, none of us would have ever predicted that 14 months later, LB would be in prison.

Mac has been known to drink a few too many himself, but he's more careful about drinking when he has to drive. We both agreed that we were not always so careful. In our younger days, when we were idealistic and STUPID, we tended to take chances. We're older and wiser (or at least more paranoid) now. This too-close-to-home tragedy illustrates why it's NEVER okay to take a risk. You never know when driving impaired "just one time" because "I'm only going a couple of miles" could destroy the rest of your life...and the lives of others. It's a very sobering (pun intended) thought.