just strum
March 28th, 2009, 08:47 AM
To warn you ahead of time, this is not an upbeat story, but a strange event that has happened over the past week. I will try to tell it in a way that makes sense.
Last Saturday a resident of our town was at a restaurant and got into an argument that was reported a domestic dispute. The argument continued outside and somehow the woman was run over by the person she was arguing with. The jeep ran over her head and back and she died hours later. I saw the newscast and really didn't pay that much attention as they didn't mention that the woman was a resident in our town.
A day or two later my daughter mentioned that the mother of a classmate had passed away, but she didn't comment on the circumstances surrounding her passing. Again, I didn't really really relate anything to the death, only commenting about the sorrow for a young person losing a parent.
Yesterday I get a call from an ex co-worker and during our conversation she asked if a guy we use to work with was the same guy involved in the death at the restaurant. Since I didn't know any of the details, I just commented that I wasn't aware of any connection.
After work yesterday, my wife and I go out for dinner and while we were out I mention the phone call. My wife tells me that the woman is the same woman that my daughter mentioned and that the guy was a friend of the woman and that after he ran her over (accidental), he tried to pull her out of the road and then panicked (understandably) screaming for God to help him and in shock. A friend of his was standing next to him trying to calm him down. The guy that ran the woman over went to his jeep and his friend thought he was going to get his cell phone. Within seconds he heard a "pop" and realized that his friend had shot himself.
When my wife and I got home, I checked the Internet and there was a picture of the guy I use to work with. Associating Eric with a gun was difficult to comprehend, associating him in this tragic event was just as difficult. Although we weren't friends in the sense we knew each other well, we talked everyday at work and occasionally went to lunch with other coworkers.
Later in the evening, I get an e-mail from another ex-coworker and was told that the friend that was with him at the time of the incident, is the same guy that helped me get a job with my current employer.
Today I go to an e-mail box that I seldom use and there is an e-mail from yet another ex-coworker asking if I heard about the incident involving Eric. He comments that the woman that died had a house two doors down from him. The way he commented about the house, I assumed he meant some years back since I knew that the guy lived about 40 miles from here. A couple more e-mails this morning with him and I find that he now lives just two miles from me and currently lives two doors down from the woman that passed away.
I know the woman's family would hold no love for Eric and understandably so, but the Eric I knew would do anything he could for a person, loved life, was adventurous and great to be around. The woman that met her untimely death had built a company, along with her husband that included a number of local spas. She was known for being a very giving person, involved in charities, worked with animals (abused and homeless), and was very active in groups involved in helping abused women. I think both will be greatly missed.
The only good thing that came from this is that Eric was a organ donor and his heart went to someone and it saved their life.
Last Saturday a resident of our town was at a restaurant and got into an argument that was reported a domestic dispute. The argument continued outside and somehow the woman was run over by the person she was arguing with. The jeep ran over her head and back and she died hours later. I saw the newscast and really didn't pay that much attention as they didn't mention that the woman was a resident in our town.
A day or two later my daughter mentioned that the mother of a classmate had passed away, but she didn't comment on the circumstances surrounding her passing. Again, I didn't really really relate anything to the death, only commenting about the sorrow for a young person losing a parent.
Yesterday I get a call from an ex co-worker and during our conversation she asked if a guy we use to work with was the same guy involved in the death at the restaurant. Since I didn't know any of the details, I just commented that I wasn't aware of any connection.
After work yesterday, my wife and I go out for dinner and while we were out I mention the phone call. My wife tells me that the woman is the same woman that my daughter mentioned and that the guy was a friend of the woman and that after he ran her over (accidental), he tried to pull her out of the road and then panicked (understandably) screaming for God to help him and in shock. A friend of his was standing next to him trying to calm him down. The guy that ran the woman over went to his jeep and his friend thought he was going to get his cell phone. Within seconds he heard a "pop" and realized that his friend had shot himself.
When my wife and I got home, I checked the Internet and there was a picture of the guy I use to work with. Associating Eric with a gun was difficult to comprehend, associating him in this tragic event was just as difficult. Although we weren't friends in the sense we knew each other well, we talked everyday at work and occasionally went to lunch with other coworkers.
Later in the evening, I get an e-mail from another ex-coworker and was told that the friend that was with him at the time of the incident, is the same guy that helped me get a job with my current employer.
Today I go to an e-mail box that I seldom use and there is an e-mail from yet another ex-coworker asking if I heard about the incident involving Eric. He comments that the woman that died had a house two doors down from him. The way he commented about the house, I assumed he meant some years back since I knew that the guy lived about 40 miles from here. A couple more e-mails this morning with him and I find that he now lives just two miles from me and currently lives two doors down from the woman that passed away.
I know the woman's family would hold no love for Eric and understandably so, but the Eric I knew would do anything he could for a person, loved life, was adventurous and great to be around. The woman that met her untimely death had built a company, along with her husband that included a number of local spas. She was known for being a very giving person, involved in charities, worked with animals (abused and homeless), and was very active in groups involved in helping abused women. I think both will be greatly missed.
The only good thing that came from this is that Eric was a organ donor and his heart went to someone and it saved their life.