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Life isn’t always life
June 16th, 2008, 5:05 pm · 2 Comments · posted by mcazalas
Two stories on the front page of Monday’s News Herald serve as reminders of how fleeting life, and our freedom, can be.
Jeremy Morrison told us about Faith Pristine Jackson, a 6-year-old Cottondale girl whose life ended in the blink of an eye when lightning struck a tree and traveled down its roots to the little girl standing 12 feet away.
Authorities can explain how lightning works, and how tree roots can act as “feeder systems” for electricity. They can talk about acts of God and fate and being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Below that story, Morrison told us about Alan Crotzer, freed from prison after serving 24 years for a rape he did not commit. The sentence was 130 years, tantamount to a life sentence.
Authorities can explain how an eyewitness made a mistake and how scientific evidence led to the clearing of his name, and the state can explain how a $1.25 million “compensation” will help him enjoy what is left of a life once taken away.
No one can tell Crotzer, though, how to replace those 24 years of life. He sets an example, though, when he says he does not hold a grudge. “I ain’t got time to be bitter and mad,” he said. “I’m on a mission.”
Nor can anyone properly comfort Faith Pristine Jackson’s family, and explain how life can so abruptly be pulled from a little girl.
We can only hope they find some peace, some comfort, with the thought that life does not always end as we plan or hope, but that it can be everlasting on a different plain.
You know, I felt the same way when I was electrocuted prior to closing on the Tyndall Federal Credit Union building on Harrison Avenue while I was renting. That was a point in time that I realized what life was all about. I wish you the best with yours. I hope they do not come after you. If you stand up to them, they will come.
Unrelated, but, who threw the monkey wrench into Squall Live?