Bulletproof

I often blog about the joys of living in a small community, Martha's Vineyard Island has a year-round population of around 15,000 people. But this close feeling has two sides; joy is shared by everyone, so is pain. Sunday was graduation day for 202 seniors at Martha's Vineyard Regional High School, the 203rd graduate was in intensive care at a Boston hospital. A 2008 graduate will be buried this morning.

Both girls were in a horrific crash last Thursday night. Both girls were good kids. Both girls were celebrating. Need I tell you that alcohol was involved? How about excessive speed? What about that dangerous conviction of the young that they are "bulletproof"?

It seems that every few years our island loses two or three young people to this kind of crash. We have the tears, the flower festooned roadside crosses, the grief counselors, the memorial scholarships, the breathalizer roadblocks on prom night, the assemblies... We even have a "Safe Rides" program where a kid who has had too much to drink can call for a free and anonymous ride home. But within a few months, except for the grieving families and a few close friends, the tragedy and its lessons are forgotten.

I am a survivor myself of reckless behavior when I was young (and when I was old enough to know better, too). I wish I knew how to keep this pain from recurring.