The Energon Pub

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 8:57 am**

Yesterday I was informed that one of my oldest daughters’ friends and her parents were killed in a house fire. The parents and the oldest daughter were killed while their son lived when he climbed out of a window and is in the hospital.. He was my daughters first “crush” (he was the first boy to call my house asking to speak to her) a few years back and was a good friend of her.

Just recently at a spring school fair they all hung out, the other day my daughter even talked to her on the phone and the night of the fire she sent her a friend request on myspace.

When I got to school she approached the vehicle and had a huge smile and was extremely happy. When she got in she joyfully told me she won best in school for her history project. I smiled hugged her then I had to break the news to her.

The story of the fire can be read here.
http://www.wdsu.com/news/13293434/detail.html

This is one of those situations that you have no idea how you are going to handle it until it actually happens.
I told her how years ago 3 of my good friends were killed in a car accident 3 days before they were supposed to graduate and I explained to her the feelings that went through my head and how we handled it.
Now the healing process begins..

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 9:24 am**

Wow.....

I really have no clue what to say other than "that sucks."

So, that sucks.

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 10:02 am**

When life throws you a curveball all you can do is swing away and hope for the best.

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 10:19 am**

Damn, I don't know how I'd be able to tell my daughter that.

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 10:52 am**

Godmodule wrote:Damn, I don't know how I'd be able to tell my daughter that.

Believe me before I told her I did not know how I was either.
This goes to show how precious life is and how in the blink of an eye something can happen. You can be here one minute and gone the next.

The whole situation has bummed all of us out.
Strange thing is I was listening to the radio and they played a song called “seasons in the sun” by Terry Jacks (a 70’s one hit wonder) and tears started rolling down my cheeks.
Here are the lyrics and you will see why it brought me to tears.

Terry Jacks
Seasons In The Sun

Goodbye to you, my trusted friend.
We've known each other since we're nine or ten.
Together we climbed hills or trees.
Learned of love and ABC's,
skinned our hearts and skinned our knees.
Goodbye my friend, it's hard to die,
when all the birds are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
Pretty girls are everywhere.
When you see them I'll be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the hills that we climbed
were just seasons out of time.
Goodbye, Papa, please pray for me,
I was the black sheep of the family.
You tried to teach me right from wrong.
Too much wine and too much song,
wonder how I get along.
Goodbye, Papa, it's hard to die
when all the birds are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
Little children everywhere.
When you see them I'll be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the wine and the song,
like the seasons, all have gone.
Goodbye, Michelle, my little one.
You gave me love and helped me find the sun.
And every time that I was down
you would always come around
and get my feet back on the ground.
Goodbye, Michelle, it's hard to die
when all the bird are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
With the flowers ev'rywhere.
I whish that we could both be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the stars we could reach
were just starfish on the beach

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 11:01 am**

Wow, that is pretty harsh. The "crush" thing probably adds a whole dimension to it as well. Good luck with things.

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 11:48 am**

Milanion wrote:The "crush" thing probably adds a whole dimension to it as well.

The boy survived though right? Man, he's going to have survivor's guilt bad. :-(

That's definately something that catches you out of left field - you expect to see them break limbs, get sick, get in trouble, or even lose grandparents, but you never think about having to tell them something like that. Sounds like you handled it pretty gracefully though CB.

I'm sure with the family she has she'll get through it okay.

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 12:03 pm**

Damn it's always hard to hear that somebody's dead and aspachaly wenn they leve suth a gap. That realy is shoking and a crap feeling, I still remember houw I felt as my uncle died man that was bad. I hope the boy makes it and survives, I know nothing can bring them back, but I hope the boy and your doughter have inuf strength to continue. I wish that the boy finds a way of gting back into life and won't be depressed for the rest of his life. He faces a tuff task now but he shuld always remember that they will only truly be dead wenn people forget about them, he shuld remember and honer them by ceeping ther memory alive.

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 12:12 pm**

My sympathies go out to all involved with incident, however.

What I want to know is why there were no smoke detectors in the home?

Not having the proper detection devices just invites a tragedy like this to happen. Let this catastrophe be used as a learning tool to demonstrate how important it is to have said detection devices to prevent more events of the same calibur from ever happening again. :-(

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 12:18 pm**

Caelus wrote:The boy survived though right? Man, he's going to have survivor's guilt bad.

Yeah he survived.
Me and my wife just a little while ago talked about what he is going to have to endure now..
He has our support 100%.

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 12:22 pm**

Cyber Bishop wrote:
Caelus wrote:The boy survived though right? Man, he's going to have survivor's guilt bad.

Yeah he survived.
Me and my wife just a little while ago talked about what he is going to have to endure now..
He has our support 100%.

Does he have family to live with, or are you considering opening your doors to him?

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 2:30 pm**

Fender Bender wrote:
Cyber Bishop wrote:
Caelus wrote:The boy survived though right? Man, he's going to have survivor's guilt bad.

Yeah he survived.
Me and my wife just a little while ago talked about what he is going to have to endure now..
He has our support 100%.

Does he have family to live with, or are you considering opening your doors to him?

That would be the soap opera solution...

but seriously, that is some heavy news... :cry:

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 2:44 pm**

Fender Bender wrote:Does he have family to live with, or are you considering opening your doors to him?

That I don't know.. I am sure he has grandparents though.
Unfortunately we have no more room for anyone else in my house.. :-(

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 3:38 pm**

I know what you mean, Cyber Bishop. Last year the hard task fell to me to notify a mother than her eldest son had been killed in Baghdad.

Hardest f*cking thing I've ever done.

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 4:53 pm**

Operation Ravage wrote:I know what you mean, Cyber Bishop. Last year the hard task fell to me to notify a mother than her eldest son had been killed in Baghdad.

Hardest f*cking thing I've ever done.

Man..

Posted: **Fri May 11, 2007 5:13 pm**

Oh my. I'm so sorry man, for you and your daughter's loss.

I hope everyone will survive this, I'll keep you in my prayers.

Posted: **Sat May 12, 2007 1:03 am**

My sympathy's Bishop.

Right now I'm imagining what her reaction must have been roughly 5-30 seconds after you said it.

That would be the worst part for me.

Posted: **Sat May 12, 2007 1:16 am**

That is harsh CB. I know she will pull through it. My best wishes to you and your family.

Posted: **Sat May 12, 2007 12:00 pm**

Dark Zarak wrote:My sympathy's Bishop.

Right now I'm imagining what her reaction must have been roughly 5-30 seconds after you said it.

That would be the worst part for me.

Thank you.

Yeah once it set in she could not stop crying..

They released more on what happened.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/ ... xml&coll=1

Posted: **Sat May 12, 2007 2:07 pm**

That just really sucks.

The Energon Pub

One of the hardest things I have had to do as a parent

One of the hardest things I have had to do as a parent