Sunset for Newton

Honokohau Harbor ~ 27 June 2011

Every now and then it's useful to remind ourselves just how fragile and precious life is.  It's worth thinking about because while we know our stay here will be short, the common assumption is that we have many more years left to enjoy family and friends.  For some, and worldwide for many every day however, today will be their last day among us.

In my working career since college I have always been in or around construction.  It's a very dangerous business and I have seen many accidents.  In those years also I have been on five sites or projects where someone has lost their lives suddenly, violently, and unexpectedly.  Monday June 27, 2011, unfortunately was one of those tragic days.  A water truck driver for a project contractor at the airport was just doing what he always does about mid-day when somehow his rig went off the edge of a small embankment, rolled over, and pinned him in the wreckage.  By the time his co-workers got to him he was gone.

It's sober, somber, and serious, these sites, and they're not pleasant to be around, yet they remind of us of how important it is to take safety seriously, at home, at work, at play, and all the time.  It only takes a moment's lapse of concentration, or a single instance of poor judgment, or a small failure of any kind to make all the difference in the world.  And that difference can determine life or death.

No one knows what happened exactly today, this accident took place in the sight of God only.  We can only pray the end came quickly and without pain.

Here's the sunset you missed tonite, Newton.  Rest in Peace, bro.