A woman who’s daughter and only child was killed when their car was rear ended by a semitruck last July has asked me to come speak to her daughter’s friends.  They are, of course, stunned and angry and sad all at the same time.  They want to DO something about the issues in the trucking industry that led to their friend’s death.

 I too am stunned and angry and sad all at the same time.  So of course I told her I would come speak to them.  It has now turned into something bigger, with their parents coming as well as the press.  So now I am spending more time putting together something that they can walk away with.  A take away if you will about what they can do as individuals and as a group to help fight for other people’s lives.

Sometimes I think I should just focus on this, that working on trucking issues is so much more important than going to school.  But then I think maybe someday I can use the two together to reach more people. 

Meanwhile, I work out a talk for the teenagers today.  Rehearase it in my mind and out loud (rehearsal helps embed information in long term memory; 502 lecture this week). 

I hope I don’t start to cry when I talk about Dad;  hope I can help them to cry when they talk about Janelle.  And wonder at the sense of it all.