Charlie Brown in 'PEANUTS"
Things have been going rather well lately. Everything's quiet. No drama. I don't have to post about chemo treatments or baldness anymore. That was quite a long time ago. Thank goodness. Yes, it's good that things are now simple and uncomplicated. BUT, that means that I have very little to write about. So, I will tell you a story about the twins.
I heard a certain song today and it reminded me of something.
To begin with, I was cleaning house this morning. Hubby had left to go fishing, so I had oldie moldy goldie music playing as I worked. One oldie from 1958 began to play. And I smiled. It was "Lollipop" by the Chordelles.
Approximately 29 years ago I was driving my kids somewhere. Along for the ride was one of Jenna's friends, Kendra, and two of Dan's friends, Aaron and Ryan. These are the twins I mentioned. And, boy, were they twins! Identical twins. (One time when they were at our house, I noticed that one of the boys was wearing glasses. When I commented that maybe NOW I would be able to tell them apart, they laughed and said they both wore glasses. . . but one of the twins was getting his repaired and didn't have them with him at that time. LOL).
Anyway, I happened to have a cassette (!) of oldies in the car and I popped it in. "Lollipop" began to play, and all the kids began to sing along to it . . . at the top of their lungs. It sounded wonderful. I played it a few times over, so they could belt it out again. It was a cool moment. Every time I hear that song, I think of those wonderful kids , riding along and singing.
When the three boys were fourteen, Dan asked them to come for a sleep-over. Aaron and Ryan had already been invited to another friend's house, which was fine. They would come another time. The other friend's house was just a few miles from our house.
Later that evening, Hubby's beeper went off. He was a volunteer fireman for our area and was being notified that help was needed. When the message came over the beeper, it was announced that there was a man down in a field after some kind of four-wheeler accident. Since Hubby wasn't trained as an EMT, he usually just went to the fire calls, not the medicals. It was a good thing. Dan was interested in the fire department, and when Hubby got calls and Dan was home, he would ride along with his dad to see what was going on. Thank God they didn't go.
The twins and their friend had been riding four-wheelers in a field after dark. They began to play chicken, and turned off their headlights to sneak around the field. Unfortunately, both twins popped over a small hill and crashed head-on with each other. One brother was knocked unconscious. One brother suffered a broken neck. The medical call was for two wonderful, loving kids. One lived. One died.
A few years later, I was riding to a volley ball game with their mom, Karen. Her daughter Kristie and Jenna both played and it was an away game, so we rode together. Karen shared some of the events of that horrible night with me.
Karen was performing in a play at our local city theater. She was backstage, waiting to go on. Then, suddenly, she had a tremendous pain in her chest. It felt like a heart attack . . . or perhaps her heart breaking. She went on to finish the show, and then left for her farm several miles away. When she walked into the house, the phone was ringing and ringing. Remember, this was before car phones or cell phones, so her husband were trying to reach her at home. She answered and got the news to get back to the city. The boys had been in an accident.
Karen said that when she arrived at the hospital, she immediately went to Ryan's side. She had been told that Aaron was going to be okay, so she knew that it was Ryan who needed her. He was already gone when she took his hand. Now her heart was really breaking. She figured out the timing of the accident, and realized that the pain in her chest coincided with the time of the accident. It's amazing how a mom and her kids can be connected, right?
I know a lot of you reading this never knew Ryan. It is a very sad thing that happened, but I realize that his death does not affect your lives. I just think about what a great kid he was and how wonderful it would have been if he could have grown up with sisters Kim and Kristie, and his brother Aaron. Maybe he could have gone on to marry a lovely young woman and have kids like his brother.
Anyway, I'm happy that I heard good old "Lollipop" today. As it said . . . it made me smile.
On a lighter note, I have a few pictures of Cate's graduation last week. What a gal! So proud of her!
GOD BLESS YOU ALL