[3130] in Depressing_Thoughts
Re: Walden from hell
rdshydur@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (rdshydur@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Wed Jun 17 03:21:39 1992
The kid was taken first to Emerson and then airlifted to
Boston Children's. According to the report he was with his
seven year old brother. Nomention in any stories about
who any older people with them might have been (parents,
sitters, older sibs, friends) in or near the water.
It will be useful to know eventually who shall perhaps
be held responsible for not keeping a better watch,
especially when Walden is standing-room-only. Amazing.
Very recently I was severely chewed out by the CP for leaving
two of my kids in one of our cars in an MIT lot while I
ran into the Media Lab to collect my mail.
I was gone maybe three minutes ... it WAS pretty dumb, and
not a habit.
No details here please (there was no problem except it
could be interpretted as abandonment, so it's illegal not
to pay attention to your kids, and you have to /be there/ in
order to pay attention) so the Walden story should really
be considered a tradgedy and an important instance that
created a little rite of passage, or ought to have, for anyone
that close to the accident.
(Confessional OFF)
Having nearly drowned maybe three times myself, and having lost
several friends to the ocean over the years, I can assure you
that if I were nearly lost at five in a crowded Walden, of all
places (and I have no additional details of the accident),
I'd be pretty pissed about it (and pretty careful in future).
Nearly drowning, 'til your unconscious, is quite a violent thing.
I would feel quite badly for /any/ person, stranger or friend,
of any age who has died that way.
