\! M£S$ftGE.. * continued
Do you wonder that I*m mad all the time? So many of the people I do business with'
are downright stupid for no good reason. Yet, anywhere but behind the wheel of a
high-powered machine, they're normal, intelligent, thinking, considerate humans.
Then there are kids who shouldn't be allowed the use of the family car until they
learn common sense. I went home the other night saddened. I had listened to a
father blubber like a baby, ^he last time I talked to him before that, he was
lecturing me. His son was a good driver, ho said. Sure, weaving in and out of
traffic, digging out on the green;
Well, we had picked up the boy on two occasions and were ready to ground him for
keeps. Then before we could do it, the serious smashup that we had anticipated,
happned. The boy's body was being wheeled out of the operating room to the morgue
when the father broke down and’ cried* "I killed my son trying ‘to prove that I was
right. I hate myself."
Let me ask you* Do you believe we should allow some idiot to risk your life and
the lives of your family members just because he wants to be there in time for the
kickoff? Would we be doing our duty in letting him off with .just a few words of
warning? t
What do you expect a cop to be anyhow? Do you want your highway patrolman to be ^
a bunch of weak-kneed, jelly-spined apologists who smile at a speeder knowing that
sooner or later he will cause,an accident?
Suppose we allowed everybody else to drive the way you were driving when the
patrolman stopped you. It wouldn't be long until you and one of those others met.,
met head on. And that would be. that.
Look in the truck cab at the roasted body of a driver who overturned while trying
to lett a hurry-boy pass without crashing into the oncoming automobile. Smell his
hair burning, experience that nausea that comes from smelling burned flesh, and
then tell me to let a reckless driver off easy. You tell the widow of the truck
driver that. Go to her house as I have had to do, and tell her that her man has
been killed because a light-hearted bunch of fun seekers were in a hurry. Look the
truck driver's kids in the eye and try to explain why their dad won't be home.
You tell'em Buster. I'm too mad and too busy.”
A short time ago, word was received that Lieutenant Clifford Treese, immediate ^
past Officer-In -Charge of Mt. Moffett (T) Radio Site, was killed in an automobile
accident at China Lake, To those of us who remember Dale; we recall the happy go
lucky smile and the little bit of humor that he was always so eager to pass around.
This is gone now, .He*11 missed by all, but mostly by Sally,,,,his wonderful wife,
and young Dale who must look elsewhere for the guidance and affection that only a
father can give.
So to all of you here on Adak, we say drive carefully. And when your tour is up
and you Tcturn to the continental limits of the United States, drive as good as
you know how,,,,today, tomorrow, and everyday you slip behind the wheel,
EDITOR’S NOTE* Last weeks Adak Sun carried an article from Mount Moffett that
included the saddening news that another alumni, J,W, FOSTER, RM3 was killed in
an auto accident near his hometown having.left Adak the 18th of April for 30 days
leave enroute to shore duty at NAVCOMMSTA, San Diego, California, May I suggest
that you read this article again, carefully and give it a permanent place in your
mind in order that you may remember to drive carefully, obey all traffic regulations
here on Adak and wherever you may go when you leave*