A little more empathy, a little less blame
A couple in Banning dropped me a line this week to take issue with a column I wrote earlier this year:
Mr. Lambert,
Your column of June 1st, '08, was quite eloquent regarding the loss of a young child. maybe if the 16-year-old child had parents that didn't allow her out at 2 a.m. the morning of this tragedy. If your column was on the lack of parental supervision instead of the experience of losing a child it would have meant more. Nowhere in your column did you mention the time of this accident! Please include all the facts if you are going to write a story again.
While I understand the sentiment, the fact is that we'll never know all the facts. I never lost a child, but I did lose a brother, to suicide. If I've learned anything from that experience, it's that no amount of "what ifs" will ever bring him back. Parents and siblings are human beings, and on occasion, each and every one of us will let our guard down. But for the grace of God go any of us on this one.