Today, on her way to work, a 23 year old woman was killed 250 feet from my office door when an armored car hit her while she rode her bike. It is not known yet exactly what happened, other than she was hit, then pinned, then died before they even got an ambulance there. Her bicycle was mangled into a horrific twist of metal, pedals, and parts.
This morning, before I knew what happened, I went about my day and took care of business. My coworker came into my office to tell me what happened, and choking back tears I immediately called Tara at work to tell her I love her. You see, Tara walks that same sidewalk everyday, and crosses in front of cars everyday, and 100s of people, literally, stand, everyday, where that woman was killed. She died today. She started out her morning like any other morning, ate the same breakfast she always eats, and rode her bike like she does everyday. Who knows what could have changed what happened to her today. Maybe if she forgot her wallet in her apartment or stopped to pet the cat one last time -- or didn't -- she would still be on earth right now, watching tv and thinking about her bike commute tomorrow morning.
Things change on a dime. Hundreds of thousands of people on the Gulf coast, in Asia, and in Iraq are learning that and living that everyday. Some of these things we can't control, but it underscores the importance of always and everyday treating people the way you want them to remember you, and don't ever let a day go by that you don't tell people who you love that you love them so much it hurts.
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