Life is temporary.../snowstorms
I had a very extended last weekend thanks to all the snow in the Northeast. (Still not letting up in case anyone's curious). A 4-day weekend to be exact. And for the most part, it was great. I had Adam trapped in my apartment until Monday afternoon and I didn't let him get any of his work done, ha ha ha ha! (I'm evil and I love it!) I had food, heat, TV, how could it get any better? I watched a lot of movies. Gangs of New York- good but very depressing, Dogma- a classic, People vs. Larry Flynt- good but depressing.
Yesterday was the first time I emerged from my apartment in 48 hours. The world was still there, waiting for me. I had to work hard to forge my path in the 2 feet of snow in order to get to the gym. Then I come home from the gym and check my messages like I would any other day. Except this time there was a message from my coworker. "Ellie, please call me back I think maybe one of your students died over the weekend. My heart sank. Surely, she had to be mistaken, none of my students could have died. They're all young, healthy, and under 15. But I call her back and ask what happened. And, indeed, he was my student. 10 years old. Tall for his age. Why did it happen? One simple mistake. It has been very cold outside. His parents ask him to sit in the car to warm up. They don't realize the car is backed up against a snow bank. The poisonous fumes are trapped inside. And very quickly, he is...gone.
He wont get to learn to drive, or date girls, or have the option to start a family of his own. I think of all my complaining because it's cold and I have so much paperwork or I wont get to see my boyfriend for 2 weeks. I'm alive! I get the chance to try to do anything I want. I guess the only positive lesson I can take away from it is how precious life is. I know I speak for the whole Orchard Gardens Community when I say that we wont forget you, Angel.
Angel Aviles-Serrano 1994-2005
Yesterday was the first time I emerged from my apartment in 48 hours. The world was still there, waiting for me. I had to work hard to forge my path in the 2 feet of snow in order to get to the gym. Then I come home from the gym and check my messages like I would any other day. Except this time there was a message from my coworker. "Ellie, please call me back I think maybe one of your students died over the weekend. My heart sank. Surely, she had to be mistaken, none of my students could have died. They're all young, healthy, and under 15. But I call her back and ask what happened. And, indeed, he was my student. 10 years old. Tall for his age. Why did it happen? One simple mistake. It has been very cold outside. His parents ask him to sit in the car to warm up. They don't realize the car is backed up against a snow bank. The poisonous fumes are trapped inside. And very quickly, he is...gone.
He wont get to learn to drive, or date girls, or have the option to start a family of his own. I think of all my complaining because it's cold and I have so much paperwork or I wont get to see my boyfriend for 2 weeks. I'm alive! I get the chance to try to do anything I want. I guess the only positive lesson I can take away from it is how precious life is. I know I speak for the whole Orchard Gardens Community when I say that we wont forget you, Angel.
Angel Aviles-Serrano 1994-2005