The phone rings and all I remember is my honey telling me “babe it’s Keila, we have to hurry”. Time is no more and I can’t seem to exhale. Next thing I know I find myself sitting in the car, I sit trembling not able to see through my tears. I gain some composer and dial a friend, few words are muttered, “I can’t wait for you to get here; I have to get to my baby”. Another call to my sister, whom is only 6 minutes from Keila, again few words are spoken “please get to Keila I don’t want her to be alone”.
Keila my precious girl decides she has had enough of her high school years. She chooses to skip her junior year and graduate a year early. She is anxious to get started with her college years. She has a plan to study law and pursue a life in law enforcement. She is quickly on the road towards continuing her education. Her start will be taking night classes at Amarillo College on the Hereford campus.
It is Tuesday night and class has let out. There is nothing different about this day, so she thinks. She takes her usual route and heads for home, as she is driving she notices a dark spot on the road. She is now on the highway traveling 70 miles an hour. She is closer to the spot and is certain now that it is not a spot but cows roaming freely on the highway. It is too late, impact has occurred.
She hits two cows and one fly’s above the hood only to land and crush the top of her car. Her car continues to travel and side swipes two other cows. Before this comes to an end the 4 cars behind her also make impact with cattle. As all this is occurring her thoughts are of her life being no more. Her car finally comes to a stop and now she sits alone and darkness slowly consumes her. As people stop to aid she calls her dad for help.
We finally reach her and fear overwhelms me, as I see the massacre on the road and my baby sitting in the mist of it all. I reach her and hug her tightly; I assure her all will be well. As I hold her in my arms, she whispers “mom I lost my ten dollars.” I smile and thank God for my daughter’s life. As I begin to look around I see my sisters and people, people everywhere, all doing everything they can to help her out of this crisis.
No one asked my daughter where she worked. No one asked what church she went to. No one asked how much money she made. No one asked what race she was. No one asked. They just saw that she was in need and stopped to help. What if this is how we reacted when we saw people living in the crisis of poverty. What if we just stopped and just helped in any way we could?
“We need to be the change we wish to see in the world.”
Mahatma Gandhi
*Accident occurred October 2009. My daughter is alive and well still attending Amarillo College pursuing a degree in Criminal Justice. Because of people like you that continue to stop and help.
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