I share in the grief and mourning that is rippling through our community, as well as through families, schools and communities in the Los Angeles area. As more details come out about this tragic accident, we become more and more aware of the loss and of the lives cut all-too short, and the impact becomes more real, more personal and hits closer to home. The bus was carrying high-school students and their chaperones on their way to Humboldt State University to explore the next stage of their lives, as they leave home and head out into the world on the exciting and uncertain path to find their own future. This was a journey so full of promise, of possibility and of exciting things yet to come. Every one of those lost has a name, a face, a family and a story. Among them are a young woman who was an identical twin, born just 5 minutes apart from her sister; a young couple recently engaged with a romantic proposal outside the Louvre in Paris; an HSU admissions counselor with a passion for helping college-bound high-school students who was recently married and now leaves behind his young wife; a high-school football player wanting to play for the Lumberjacks; the drivers of both the bus and the FedEx truck involved in the crash, both dedicated workers doing their jobs. A friend of mine noted yet another level of loss; the loss of their future contributions to our community that we will never know. When young students come to HSU many of them choose to stay here in Humboldt after graduation and make this their home. They become friends and neighbors, co-workers or business owners, they contribute to our community with their talents and skills, their art, their music, their creativity, their humor and their passion. The richness of who they are helps make this a richer place. The loss of all of these promising people, students and chaperones, the young and the not-so-young, those we knew and those we never met, deprives our future of everything they had to contribute and makes Humboldt County and the world a poorer place. My heart goes out to all of those affected by this terrible tragedy, and I keep all of their families and loved ones in my thoughts as they suffer through this unimaginable loss, which can never be undone.
Posted on: Sat, 12 Apr 2014 17:36:20 +0000
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