I made a post (An Instant in Time) about 5 1/2 years ago about a former member of the same Sunday School services I attended back in the early 90s.  His name is Dan and I discussed how a momentary lapse of judgement completely ruined his life.  Dan was in a hurry to get to work one morning and decided to pass a school bus that still had it's STOP flag out.  Dan ran over a little girl who was killed instantly.  Dan was charged with involuntary manslaughter. He was found guilty and served 3 years of a 5 year sentence in prison. His wife divorced him while he was in prison.  His life went downhill from that point.  Once he got out of prison, the only job he could get was in landscaping.  This was a former banking investor who couldn't get any work.  Dan lost everything, including his marriage.   But, as I said in that post, I saw him at a local Steak and Shake back in 2009 and had not heard from him since that time.

I got a call from a former church member Sunday morning.  He said he had received word that Dan had committed suicide late Friday night.  I was shocked just as anyone would have been about news such as that.  But, I can't say I was surprised.  I had heard from mutual friends that Dan was not doing well and still could not get work.  Financially, he was on the verge of living with his aging parents which he didn't want.  So, Dan killed himself rather than do that.  I'm not sure what he was thinking.  Surely, he recognized how devastated his parents would be upon hearing of his suicide.  Like he did with the incident related in An Instant in Time post, he did not give much thought to what his actions would do to others.  He did leave a note for his two daughters.  The content, of course, was not revealed, nor should it have been.  I don't like to judge other people.  I don't think I am doing it with Dan.  But, I think we all need to sit back and think about what we will do or say in an irrational moment that could cost us dearly.  Dan was haunted by killing that little girl back in 1993.  His thoughtless moment affected so many people.  I hope, at long last, Dan can finally rest in peace.  I hope he can.  That's all I can or will say about that.