Get High

Tuesday, Jo, Silas and I took a walk to the river while Nate was at his piano lessons.  It was a beautiful fall day, the trees beautiful and the neighborhood quiet.  We discovered a small park with a bench and planted flowers right beside the river.  We noticed a plaque and read a dedication of the park to a local scientist who had given his life to save 7 collegues.  They were working on a radiation project when something went wrong and he dove on top of the thing, getting radiation himself but saving those with him.  He died 9 days later.  Wow!  I told the boys, that is like a Star Trek thing to do, like Spock did for the Captain and his crew in that one tear-jerker scene.  Pretty cool.  I imagined what this guy was like as we headed down to the river.  Muddy, stumps, rocks, garbage.  Cyclone nearly stepped on some fishing hooks and line (Jo was happy for that discovery and took it home) and I nearly stepped on some small green ziploc bags.  I picked them up and new what they were for....it had a bomb on it with the words "Get High" all over it.  Amazing that drug users get a cute little baggy for their goods, maybe even find them in bulk at the dollar store.  After a bit more exploring we hurried back to pick Nate up.  I tried to remember the scientists name who gave his life, but couldn't....the only souviener from our visit to the river was the fishing hooks and these two little bags. So many times that's how it goes in our days...the drugs are here to stay but the sacrificial people aren't or their forgotten.  I'm sorry about that.  The druggie bags will go in the garbage, but I'll be back at that park to remember this guy and his dedication to life. At the end of the day, that's what it is all about.