Joanne's Death...

December 12, 1992 my sister was returning home from a friends house.She
turned left, shortly thereafter she was hit head on by   a large van, driven by a
drunk driver.. Her prizm was thrown into a nearby ditch. Joanne was life
flighted to Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Our home town. She was
placed in the trauma room with massive head injuries. The passenger, Joanne's
best friend, Michelle, was also taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Joanne
died at 3:00AM December  13, 1992. My mother and I were stuck at the Dallas airport.
 

The funeral was held on December 15, 1992. I remember a lot  about it. Its
something I openly talk about because its a very potent story  where I felt the
most emotion I ever have in my whole life. The funeral was  open casket for the
family..before the service began. One by one my family  and I walked by her
casket and kissed her on her forehead. Kissed our  Joanne goodbye. My family
then filed into the waiting room. I, just stood  there and watched them close
her casket. I stood there thinking, this will be the last time I ever see her face.
It was a moment I will never  forget...the sound of that casket closing, was when
I finally realized  Joanne was gone forever.
 
The most amazing part of the funeral was the amount of people who showed
up. Three busloads of High School students..not to mention friends, family,
teachers, counselors, and more. I remember thinking in the funeral how
ignorant Joanne must have been. I remember all those times I heard her tell
Mom that no one liked her. That she had no friends, that no one cared. I  didn't
care who those people were. Where they were from..if they had at any  point
mistreated my sister. I loved each one of them. I loved them for  being there,
being there for her.

The burial service was to say the least beautiful. It started snowing  right in the
middle of it. People wept. I stood at the front admiring the  pink roses on her
casket. When the service ended with prayer, everyone took  a rose. Before I left
I made sure I took some for myself. Those roses set  in a vase above my
bookshelf to this very day. As beautiful as the day I  took them. As beautiful as
Joanne was.
 

I believe Joanne is in Heaven, where  she belongs. I believe she
watches over us, and protects us. Especially my  family and friends. I
believe Joanne's spirit is still alive and that like  a locust..her skin was
all that was shed. I believe she is still with me.  Holding my hand and
looking over my shoulder. I believe it wasn't Joanne  that died that
morning, but merely a shell.
 

         Before you get in a car..either drunk yourself or with another
         drunk  driver...think of Joanne. Yet not only Joanne, but of all the
         people who  have been affected tremendously by drunk driving. For all
         those that have  endured this pain, please, think of them before you
         decide you can make it  two blocks. Joanne was killed two blocks from
         the drunk driver's home.  Think of the man who must live the rest of
         his life knowing that because of  a stupid mistake he made, a life was
         lost. Think of his torment. Think of  ours. The odds of you and
         everyone around you making it home okay are slim.
          Its a risk I beg you never to take.

 
 
           To ALWAYS wear your seatbelt..Joanne MIGHT have lived if
         she had been  wearing her seatbelt. She would not have slammed her
         head on the roof of  the car. It was a 2 second procedure that Joanne
         decided not to participate  in. It contributed very much so to her
         death. There is no excuse whatsoever  for not putting your seatbelt on.
         I do it. I never forget. Its the FIRST  thing I do when I get in the car,
         and I also make sure everyone else in the  car is wearing them. It is a
         VERY simple..lifesaving task.

 
 
           To remember we are not here forever..Yes we all have our
         disagreements.  We all argue. We all have somebody on this earth we
         just can't stand. But  it is pointless to go through your life hating
         anyone regardless of what  they do to you. People make mistakes.
         People are human. Its important to  remember that holding a grudge
         will only eat at YOU not at them. Look at  your family..your
         friends..your lover...Look at them and appreciate what  you DO have
         not what you have lost or what you never have been given. They  are
         important, and they won't be by your side forever. So it is important
         you treat them as if today was the last day you would ever see them.
 
 

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