Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Sad

I receive "Breaking News" alerts from my local newspaper via e-mail. Yesterday, I opened the link discussing a traffic fatality. A 25 year old man was killed. He lost control of his truck, hit a utility pole and flipped his vehicle. He was partially thrown out of his truck and crushed under his car. He was not wearing a seat belt.

I knew him.

Jeff was a karate student at our dojo during his teen years. Jeff's father walked in the dojo over fifteen years ago and asked my husband if he would accept his son as a student. Jeff was bullied in school and got into some trouble when he started fighting back. For three years Jeff was an active member of the dojo community. He rarely missed a class, participated in demonstrations and competed in tournaments.

Jeff progressed through the karate ranks and earned a brown belt before he stopped taking classes. At a community carnival, Jeff defended his sister and was attacked by several older boys. He fell and sustained a compound fracture to his arm. Jeff was in a cast for months and never returned to class.

It has been at least ten years since Jeff has been to the dojo. His name plaque still hangs on the wall. He will forever be part of our dojo community. My thoughts and prayers go out to your family and friends.

May you rest in peace.

6 comments:

Felicia said...

Such a tragedy, Michele! Sorry to hear about Jeff and my thoughts and prayers go out to his biological and dojo families.

FredInChina said...

That is terrible news Michele - my heart reaches out to you.
osu
Fred

Frank said...

I'm sorry, Michele. My condolences to you, to his family, and to all others who knew him.

Michele said...

Thank you...

Jeff was one of our first students. My husband spoke to Jeff's father and told him to call us if he needed anything.

Anonymous said...

My condolences, it's always tragic when someone you know personally dies. Even when you haven't seen them in years, there are still good memories. You and Thomas probably had a huge impact on this young man's life and values.

Zara

Michele said...

Zara...Thank you...