Never Forgetting the Victims & Their Families
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
Never Forgetting the Victims & Their Families |
|
Edward Cole
Age 42
I received the call at 8:38 on Sunday morning, June 16, 2002, Father’s Day. A day I will never forget. It was my mother telling me that Eddie was dead. I thought it was some kind of cruel, sick joke. How can my younger brother be dead? He was only 42 years old. My mother told me Eddie was on his way home from Bike Week in Laconia, New Hampshire that Sunday morning and a drunk driver drove onto his side of the road and hit Eddie’s Harley Davidson throwing Eddie violently off his Harley and onto the side of the road, it was approximately 7:15am. The drunk driver also hit my sister-in-law’s car, which was following Eddie’s Harley. My sister-in-law, Marlene ran to Eddie. She told him they (my sister-in-law, Eddie’s daughter and her friend) were ok. Eddie let out one last breath. I was told that although the medics tried to revive him on the way to the hospital and in the hospital Eddie did not make it because his injuries were too severe.
It is so hard to imagine that we were together exactly one week before his death. We were at my sister’s house and Eddie was showing us the proofs from his wedding which had taken place on the beach in Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland on May 25, 2002, 22 days before he was killed.
Eddie was a very caring, warm, friendly, and affectionate person. He was never afraid or ashamed of being affectionate. He would come over and put his arm around me or other members of the family and ask how we were doing. He would say, “You know I love you” and show his feelings without hesitation.
Eddie loved riding his Harley Davidson and traveled to different parts of the country; he liked John Lennon and his music, the Dallas Cowboys Football Team, and skydiving.
Eddie had plans for the future. We talked about different things he wanted to do; places he wanted to visit; and, of his future with his new wife. A future he will never have because of a drunk driver.
Eddie did so much and helped so many people, and because of the type of person Eddie is, one who never bragged or boasted of what he did, we will never know of all the things Eddie did to help others.
The irony of all this is that Eddie was a member of AA; he made the choice to stop drinking and help others stop drinking.
All we have now of Eddie are memories, photos, and mementos. We can never make new memories with Eddie and all our family photos will always have one less person. Everyone has their own memories and times they shared with Eddie and that is special to them. We will never forget him.
Submitted by Cathy Cole
 |
||
