A life changing experience in my life was when my friend Loui Olivari died. It really awakened me to how the world works and how fragile life is. I remember the day perfectly. I was practicing with my drum teacher, Ted at his house, when Loui passed away from a heart attack in his apartment. Later we learned that his heart had stopped while he was driving due to his high blood pressure. Therefore his car went out of control when he lost consciousness, and drifted into the oncoming traffic. Unaware of what happened my mom and me, we went home and I went to my friend Patrick’s house, who lived on the next street from me. We spent the entire afternoon together and surprisingly my mom didn’t even call me up for dinner, so I stayed with them and we had a barbecue. I remember sitting on the bench eating grilled hamburgers, relaxing with Patrick and his parents, and thinking how great life was. After dinner Patrick’s mom went off somewhere, I wasn’t sure where, but I just figured she went for a Coke run as usual. I stayed and listened to music while Patrick messed around on his guitar. Then I got an unexpected call to go back home. So I said goodnight and went on my way. My mom sounded lost and very calm on the phone, not her usual happy self. Wondering what was happening I slowly opened the door to see my mom and dad sitting together on the blue and white couches. My mom asked me to sit down, so I sat between them while my mother began to explain how Loui had been in a car accident earlier that afternoon. “His car veered into the oncoming traffic and was hit from the side…he didn’t survive.” I remember at that moment dad clenching my shoulder so much it hurt, but I was numb to the pain, we all were. I didn’t cry. None of us did. We were unable to comprehend how this could possibly be true. It was at this time that I began to realize how fragile and vulnerable we are, that in just one second a person can go from being alive with family, friends, years of education, and goals, to being gone, wasted, never to come back. My friend would never return, never walk through the church doors of Livingway and greet me. I would never get to see him play his keyboard for praise and worship on sundays. My mother had always told me that bodies are strong things. If I got a cut or scrape I would take time to clean it, cover it and take care of it. “Your body is a strong thing; it will heal, it will be ok.” Suddenly I realized that this was not always the case, there is not always hope, and sometimes what happens is unchangeable. One day it will be ok. For now, I am left with an empty feeling in my heart. However I am forever blessed with the realization of how precious the people we love are, and now I know to cherish every moment, while it lasts.
