Sixteen...and Bulletproof

Detours on life's highway took the Gypsy Queen Cab back to school...oh, lawd, teaching 6th, 7th and 8th graders in a drug prevention program. So many miles down that road now, and so many eye-opening experiences.

Friday night, just 6:30 pm, what were they thinking? The 16-year-old girl driving drunk down County Road 65? Her passengers, another 16-year-old girl and her 15-year-old sister, one of my students. The elder sister died when she was ejected from the car after it left the road. Her younger sister, my student, was sent by life-flight to Sacred Heart Hospital and her arm was amputated.

Last quarter we did role-playing about what to do if someone was driving drunk and they were in the car. It wasn't real in the classroom, I suppose. Maybe a few kids heard the message. It's too late for the 16-year-old who died on Friday night. Today, I will be back in classes with the 6th graders, and her youngest brother will be there. It is so sad, and so close to home.