According to MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, someone is killed by a drunk driver every 40 seconds! Every 40 frikin seconds!

I have had 2 people very, very close to me get killed by drunk drivers. And yesterday, October 17th, was the 13th anniversary of one of my best friends, Alli Matzdorf, who was killed by a drunk driver when we were only 16 years old. Please don’t ask me what it was like to carry the casket of a best friend at 16 years old, and then lower her into her grave for the final time anyone would see her.

Alli, along with three of her teammates, were on their way to swim practice at 5am at our high school when a drunk driver ran a red light at 90 mph and killed them all – and killed the passenger of his car as well. He was just fine. Don’t worry though, he didn’t learn his lesson because when he got out of jail he did the same thing and hurt a bunch of other people drunk driving again. Way to go justice system.

So whatever you do, please, please do not get behind a wheel of a car when you’ve had anything to drink. It’s not about ‘how much you can handle’ it’s about caring enough about your life and the lives of others around you.

It can happen to you.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

According to MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, someone is killed by a drunk driver every 40 seconds! Every 40 frikin seconds!

I have had 2 people very, very close to me get killed my drunk drivers. And today is the 14th anniversary of my mentor, Jeff Still, getting killed by a drunk nurse who hit him head on because she crossed over the median, when I was 15 years old. He was not killed instantly and suffered a very painful death, robbing this world of one of the truly special people to ever live; and this nurse had just a couple of scratches. He is survived by his wife and two little boys, who have now grown up not knowing their dad because some lady decided to make a stupid, selfish choice.

The most haunting part for me today is that Jeff was 28 when he was killed. I’m 29, and have already outlived the man I looked up to most, outside of my family, during the most formative years of my life.

Please, please, don’t ever drink and drive. I don’t care if you’ve had one or two drinks and think you’re ok. Just call a cab or have someone pick you up. It’s not a macho thing, and I could care less how high you think your tolerance is or how cool it is that you can drink anyone under the table. Just don’t get behind the wheel of a car. It’s not cool. It’s not funny. Take a look at Jeff’s picture and let it live with you knowing that every time you get behind a wheel when you drink, you could be killing a spouse, a parent, a sibling and a mentor – like this lady did for the people in my life.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

I will be resuming the previous discussion about Activism tomorrow, as I apologize for the brief departure over the last few days.

It has been a very rough week for me personally as life and death, excitement and pain, have all closely hovered around my daily existence. Two family members had unexpected surgery this past week, one of them being my 86 year old Grandpa. He suffers from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease, and hasn’t been doing well. The doctors said that it was risky to even let him have surgery because they weren’t sure if he would wake up from the anesthesia. But if they didn’t perform the surgery, he most likely would have suffered enormous pain, ultimately leading to his death. But by God willing him through the anesthesia, he woke up. Though the following night the drainage tube from his back clogged in the middle of the night, and the nurses found him in a pool of his own blood in the morning. They rushed him down to the emergency room and praise God that he was able to regain consciousness. He is in a rehab facility right now, so please pray for the Lord’s comfort throughout all of his pain and uncertainty. This is very difficult for me to talk about because my Grandpa was an extremely integral part of my life—he was involved in absolutely everything I did. I have a very small, very close family, each of which had an important hand in raising me to be the man I am today. It’s impossible for me to ever understate the huge part my Grandpa has played in my life. This journey over the last few years has been very difficult—and this past week was the closest to him dying that any of us have seen.

Also, today is October 17^th, the 12 year anniversary of one of my best friends getting killed by a drunk driver when we were 16 years old. Minding her own business, Alli was hit by a drunk driver going 90 mph, blowing a red light and sending her, and her car flying over 100 ft. Alli, along with 3 others were killed. The drunk driver was the only person to survive. It still stings all these years later, as Alli has never, and will never leave my mind.

But also today, on the 12 year anniversary of Alli’s death, on the day that the rest of my family gets to officially visit with my Grandpa for the first time, I have the humbled honor to officiate a wedding for two of my best friends—Joe and Meg. Weddings are always an exciting time, a time of new life being brought together before God. This is the third, and final wedding I will ever do. I only officiate weddings for my best friends, and these are my only remaining best friends yet to be married. It’s a special honor, but mixed in with the difficult closeness and remembrance of death over the past week, it’s been hard for me to feel emotionally balanced.

However, my Grandpa is still alive, Alli is still in my heart, and I am looking forward to uniting some of my best friends to each other.

Thanks for hanging in there with me these past few days.

Much love.

www.themarinfoundation.org

Due to me being sick last week I wasn’t able to post this, so here you go a week late.

On February 25, 1997 a man that I considered my second dad, Jeff Still, was killed by a drunk driver. Jeff was a man I looked up to in all aspects of life: He loved the Lord, he played Division I football in college, and he was a model husband and father to his two little boys—all things I aspired to each day of my young life [I was 16 years old when he was killed].

Jeff always listened to me, encouraged me, stuck up for me in the face of much adversity, and believed in me that the crazy goals I had could, and would, come true with enough faithful dedication and love.

I loved Jeff (I called him Coach Still) so very much. I still have a picture of him hanging on my refrigerator, and even in writing this my heart hurts remembering who he was and what he meant to me.

As I posted on October 17th, please do not drink and drive. There are too many innocent lives lost by stupid, and very preventable decisions to get behind the wheel of a car while drunk [and by drunk I mean ANY drinks at all]. I am not judging anyone who does drink. I am just trying to prevent more lives that will be taken away from potential friends and families who will miss that person everyday—wishing they were there for just one more day to share one more experience. Always remember that just because someone thinks they are “ok” to drive, doesn’t mean they actually are. There is no excuse.

Much love.
www.themarinfoundation.org

October 17th is quite a day for me. I’m sitting at O’Hare airport right now on my way to Tampa with a gigantic pain in my soul. In fact right now I’m starting to sweat even thinking about it.

October 17, 1997: one of my really close friends, Alli, got killed in a car accident. She and two other friends were driving and a drunk driver ran a red light at 90 mph and hit them square. Everyone, including the passenger in the drunk driver’s car were killed instantly … except the drunk driver himself. We were juniors in high school and it was the day before homecoming. I had the hugest crush on her, I looked up to her brother as a hero of mine and I loved her little sister and her mom and dad.

I call her family every year still on this day. What do you say – hey, how’s today treating you? There’s not much to say other than I love them with all that I am, always have and always will. I still visit Alli’s grave when I get out to the suburbs, and her picture is hanging on the grave. I look at the picture and talk to her, like she’s still here. It’s been so long, yet I remember every moment of how and when I found out as clearly as I am sitting here right now … and then to carry Alli’s casket from the church to the hearse to the grave is one of the most humbling moments of my life.

I’m not going to make this long nor am I going to gush about the time we had together. All I want is for everyone who reads this to do just one thing for me – don’t get behind a wheel of a car after drinking. I’m 27 now, and we were all 16 when Alli was killed. Our friends are all married now, and some are having kids … something that we’ll never see for her. Just think before you ever get behind the wheel, or in the car, with a driver that has drunk alcohol.

Much love.