Our Young Ones On The Roads
I was gifted this poem when I was 15 and taking Driving Lessons back in the day. It had a profound affect.
TOO MANY OF OUR YOUNG AND LOVED ONES ARE DYING ON OUR ROADS.
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Please God I’m Only 17
The day I died was an ordinary school day. How I wish I had taken the bus. But I was too cool for the bus. I remember how I wheedled the car out of my mom, “special favor” I pleaded. “All of the kids drive.”
When the 2:50 bell rang, I threw all my books in the locker. I was free until 8:40 tomorrow morning. I ran to the parking log, excited at the thought of driving a car and being my own boss. Freel!
It doesn’t matter how the accident happened. I was goofing off – going too fast- taking crazy chances. But I was enjoying my freedom and having fun. The last thing I remember was passing an old lady who seemed to be going awfully slow, I heard a deafening crash. I felt a terrible jolt. Glass and steel flew everywhere. My whole body seemed to be turning inside out. I heard myself scream.
Suddenly I was awakened; it was very quiet. A police officer was standing over me. Then I saw a doctor. My body was mangled. I was saturated in blood. Pieces of jagged glass were sticking out all over. Strange that I couldn’t feel anything.
Hey, don’t pull that sheet over my head! I can’t be dead. I’m only 17. I’ve got a date tonight. I’m supposed to grow up and have a wonderful life. I haven’t lived yet. I can’t be dead!
Later I was placed in a drawer. My folks had to identify me. Why did they have to see mee like this? Why did I have to look at Mom’s eyes when she faced the most terrifying ordeal of her life? Dad suddenly looked like he was an old man. He told the man in charge, “Yes , he is my son.”
The funeral was a weird experience. I saw all of my relatives and friends walk toward the casket. They passed by, one by one, and looked at me with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen. Some of my buddies were crying. A few of the girls touched my hand and sobbed as they walked away.
Please – somebody – wake me up! Get me out of here! I can’t bear to see my mom and dad so broken up. My grandparents are so racked with grief that they can hardly walk. My brothers and sisters are like zombies. They move like robots. In a daze, everybody. No one can believe this. And I can’t believe it either.
Please don’t bury me! I’m not dead! I have a lot of living to do! I want to laugh and run again. I want to sing and dance.
Please don’t put me in the ground. I promise if you give me just one more chance God, I’ll be the most careful driver in the whole world.
All I want is one more chance!
Please, God, I am only 17!
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Very, very powerful. I have not read this for quite a while and every time I do, I realize that we have only once chance at this amazing life that God has given us. Some of our mistakes we get a “do over” with, but there are many times that our mistakes are either life changing or life ending.
I strongly encourage all parents of young drivers to give this to them as a gift, yes a gift……it is literally a gift that could save their life and the lives of their friends.
Christmas Eve busiest shopping day of the year with more than 500,000 sales
Busiest shopping day of the year
Peak time 12 noon-1 pm - 563,303 transactions
Per second peak - 167 transactions
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Number of sales beats Black Friday, but lowest Christmas Eve in six years
Christmas Eve has been the busiest shopping day of the year with 9,745 sales a minute at its peak.
Payments company Worldline says noon to 1pm saw 563,303 sales recorded on its network, down by about 7 percent on a year ago.
The company's network covers about three-quarters of the electronic terminals in operation.
Worldline did not have a dollar value for spending, but the peak number of transactions was the lowest for the past six years and well shy of the record 679,436 in 2019, before the pandemic.
Earlier this month it noted rising sales in the first three weeks of the month, but they remained 1.3 percent lower than 2024, with most parts of the country trailing the previous year's spending.
Official data from Stats NZ to the end of November showed a small rise in spending on the previous month, to 1.6 percent higher for the year.
Retail spending has been subdued as households have remained cautious because of high prices and a slow benefit from lower interest rates, and as well as concerns about the soft labour market.
However, recent surveys have shown improving consumer sentiment with ANZ bank's monthly report showing confidence at its highest level in four years.
Boxing Day is traditionally the country's favourite shopping day, but with Black Friday spending also softer this year the amount going through retailers' terminals may also be down on a year ago.
Adding a dampener to consumer spending may be the recent rises in longer term fixed mortgage rates because of higher wholesale rates.
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Poll: Is it ok to regift something that you have been given?
🎁 Holiday Gift Chat!
Do you ever regift?
What’s your take on asking for a receipt if a gift doesn’t fit?
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79.1% Yes! It's better to regift what I don't need
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20.9% No. It's the thought and effort that matters
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Don’t miss out, give yourself the gift of quality sleep this Christmas!
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