When will it end??

A drunk driver who killed a Calgary woman and badly injured her disabled son when he plowed into them on a sidewalk has been sentenced to five years in jail.

Darren Coupal has also been banned from driving for 10 years.

Linda Davey, who was 43, was walking with her teenage son, who has cerebral palsy, when they were mowed down in April 2008.

A 30-year-old friend who was with them was also injured.

Coupal pleaded guilty late last year to five charges that included impaired driving causing death and hit and run. He should have gotten an automatic life sentence for the death of Linda Davey plus five years each for the injuries of her friend and son. The sentence should have been a total of thirty years.

Court heard he was on his way home that night after drinking at a pub. He wasn't smart enough to call a cab or have a sober buddy drive him home. No that would have made way too much sense.

Until the government of Canada finally recognizes the fact that a death at the hands of a drunk driver is murder. Another weekend will roll by and the news first thing Monday morning will highlight the carnage and death tolls on the streets and highways all over again.

A husband, or in this case a mother and son, will not be comming home again. Sad that in this case Coupal is a habitual offender. Yet he still received only 5 years. Meanwhile the husband of Linda Davey is looking at a life sentence without his wife.

CH CH CHANGES...

A very dear friend of mine, well he's kinda like a kid brother, is a fellow blogger. He is an incredible writer and a talented artist. http://midlifepie.blogspot.com/ is his blog. Please check it out.

Well back to the point I was getting too is, I as well as several others who follow his blog complained about the white text on the black back ground as a retina burning burning experience. Well I have made the same changes to this blog also.

Change is inevitable and life, well life goes on. This hasn't been more apparent as this past week when I found out that one of my life's mentors passed on and her name was Carol Bickford Legacy. I didn't mean to go here in this entry, but well... I am here now. So here it goes.

Carol was a very dear and special friend to me. She saved me from the streets and myself. God brought her into my life when I was a know-it-all teenager (I am quite sure that you also know a teen or two who are like this) at a very difficult time and helped me through it.

I am who I am as well as where I am today because of Carol. As a lot of people, I have been touched by her spirit of kindness and generosity. Carol was a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. Who took her life experiences to do good things for others. She helped save a lot of us from ourselves. She often put herself out as a light of hope when all else was dark. She was a 'Mom' to many.

Through her motherly guidance I straightened out my life. Met some of my best friends in life. Those of you who hung out at Classic Donuts, which is another story for another time, know exactly what I am talking about. Over time we watched each other's families grow, and helped each other through the challenges that life had thrown our way.

There was the time where I personally was guided by the hand of God, and to this day I will never forget what I had witnessed. Not to many people have heard this story and I will never forget what happened the day her daughter Terry passed away.

I'd been out late this particular night and just walked in the front door when the telephone rang. Wondering to myself who in the hell would be calling at this ungodly hour, I picked up the telephone and it was Carol. With trembling voice she told me that she had just received a telephone call from the institution where Terry lived, and it didn't look good. She needed to be there and would I take her. It was a two and a half maybe a three hour trip.

"I'm on my way!" I told her and back out the door I went. Stopped in picked up Carol and down the 401 highway we went. As the sun barely broke the sky we pulled up to the hospital in St Catherines and made a mad dash to the front door and up to the floor where Terry was. We ran into the room and I stopped when noticed a ring of vapour rise above Terry's body. It gently rose up and disappeared into the ceiling.

"Carol, she knows you are here and she's has gone to heaven." Carol turned and looked at me with tears in her eyes and asked, "how do you know?"

I smiled at her and told her I just saw her spirit rise up in a graceful ring above her body. I knew exactly what it was the moment I saw it. Terry knew her mom was there.She waited for her to arrive and now she could go on.

Shortly there after, Carol's ex husband, Terry's father, walked into the room. We explained what had happened. I excused myself to go and figure out why the truck was hiccuping into the parking lot. Mr. Coxon and I took it to a garage I noticed on the way in.

The mechanic lifted up the hood, grabbed a socket wrench and pulled out a spark plug, it was fried. Just like the other three in the motor. He was amazed that the trucked ran at all. He then told me what it would cost. Mr. Coxon took care of the bill as he explained that he appreciated me getting Terry's mother into town so quickly. It was all done by the grace of God.

My condolences to Paul, Tammy and Liam. May God quickly take the pain of your loss and replace it with the joy of the fond memories. I still chuckle when I think about the disapproving looks she would shoot at me, when I was just out to get her goat. To you Tammy, thank you for sharing your mother with me. I am truly grateful.

I love you Carol, you will always be a part of me. Thank you for being there for me, my wife and my kids.