masterwordsmith-unplugged

On the day after my younger boy was born, I remember picking up a copy of The Star newspaper and then reeled in shock. Smack in the middle of the page was the photograph of a former student of mine, a gentle young man who had just finished his law degree.

The report said that he crashed his Porsche into a tractor when he reversed his car just in front of his house. It has been twelve years since his demise but I have never forgotten the trauma, grief and sadness that his family, especially his mother went through. When I was discharged from hospital, I bumped into the funeral procession and tears rolled down my eyes as I held my new born baby. My heart went out to his mother and his three siblings whom I taught as well.May he rest in peace always.

Another former student of mine, the only child in the family, died in a motorcycle accident when he was knocked down by a bus as he was on his way to pick up his girlfriend. His parents were devastated. Another student of mine died of liver cancer at the age of 18 years in 2003. His classmates used to call him my model student as he was such a promising young man. Even during his last moments on earth, he remained a filial and strong person and told his parents what he wanted to wear for his burial and other rites. We all wept during the wake. Till today, I still have a few of his essays. May they all rest in peace.

Life is indeed fragile and we must treasure it.

This morning, my dear friend Angela sent me the following video which everyone who drinks should watch carefully.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH.

Here's some information about why one should never drink and drive (taken from THIS LINK):



It's not a question of whether you are legally intoxicated, it's a question of whether or not it is safe to drive when you have consumed any amount of alcohol. Research shows that impairment begins long before a person reaches the blood alcohol concentration level necessary to be guilty of drunken driving.

The Legal Limit
In all 50 states, the legal limit for drunk driving is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08. A 120-pound woman can reach a .08 BAC level after only two drinks and a 180-pound man can be at .08 after only four drinks.

A "drink" is either one shot of liquor, a five-ounce glass of wine or one beer, all of which contain the same amount of alcohol.

At a .08 BAC level, drivers are so impaired that they are 11 times more likely to have a single-vehicle crash than drivers with no alcohol in their system. But 25 years of research has shown that some impairment begins for both males and females even after one drink.

.02 BAC Level
At the .02 blood alcohol concentration level, experiments have demostrated that people exhibit some loss of judgment, begin to relax and feel good. But tests have also shown that drivers at the .02 level experience a decline in visual functions, affecting their ability to track a moving object, and experience a decline in the ability to perform two tasks at the same time.

These changes may be very subtle and barely noticable to the person who has had only one drink, but in an emergency situation while behind the wheel of a vehicle, they could cause the driver to react (or not react) as they would without having had a drink.

CLICK HERE for the rest of the article.

Take care and have a beautiful Sunday evening with your loved ones and friends.