LITTLE ROCK — Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, out of the gray dust of profound grief can come enlightenment for those of us still making our way in this troubled world.
That was the case with young Brian Reed, who died this spring when he became momentarily distracted while driving home with his seat belt unbuckled. He had graduated from Harrison High School just two days earlier and, like every seemingly invincible 18-year-old, had the expectation of a bright future on the horizon. Everything about his life radiated hope and anticipation-until two crucial choices that must have seemed trivial at the time.
Brian died only yards from his home after being thrown from his vehicle, which had strayed from the pavement. A first-responder is said to have discovered a partially completed text on his cell phone.
Like teen-agers in every close-knit community, Brian had many friends, from the athletic fields to the classrooms. He was one of those fun-loving boys everyone enjoyed, so as another school year begins, Brian's passing has planted seeds that hopefully will blossom each year into a message that will save other young lives. His memory will endure inside the school's impressive new athletic facility. Brian's father, Pat Reed, was a moving force in seeing this building and the new football stadium become a reality in my hometown.
JoAnn Tice, the school nurse at Harrison High, told me that each time the school year begins, she and other officials meet with students to explain their roles. This year, Nurse Tice, as the students call her, is using Brian's death as a testament by explaining to students how serious amatter it is to snap their seat belts and leave their cell phones alone when they are driving.
Using that organ to preserve life always trumps any text message or phone call, and the proven laws of physics dictate that seat belts are critical. Nothing brings these messages home more effectively than knowing that one of their own is gone for those very reasons.
"Although students hear about these subjects many times in their lives," said Tice, "if we can tie it to someone they know that has lost their life, maybe, just maybe, they will think of their friend before they drive without using their seat belt and before they get their cell phone out to text."
Gwen Youngblood of Harrison shared an incredible story about how Brian's death saved her own teen's life. It's a story that every young person in the nation needs to hear.
Meghan Collins graduated with Brian on the Friday before he died early Sunday morning. On Monday, the grieving girl went to the scene and gathered shards of broken windshield glass and placed them in her Jeep as a reminder to always fasten her seat belt, something she'd seldom done before. Just three days later, she and 16-year-old girlfriend Casey Wilson were in the Jeep when it left from the roadway and rolled three times. They were wearing seat belts.
Youngblood, who has worked for years at FedEx with Brian's father, later told him that she sincerely believed his son had saved her daughter's life, and probably Casey's, too. Reed's response: "Text messaging and no seat belt is a deadly combination. . . . One of those alone could lead to tragedy." I'm imagining Brian smiling affirmations down on his dad.
Meanwhile, Tice's husband Tommy, who as Harrison's head football coach knew Brian, is spearheading an effort to create a player's room in the school's new athletic facility. Fittingly, it's to be known as Brian's Room.
"We've already raised $10,000," said the popular coach. "We're hoping it will be completed by our annual homecoming, celebration on Oct. 16."
He said Brian's Room most likely will have two large-screen televisions with a sound system, an Xbox, Wii, a pool table, air hockey, couches, card tables and memorabilia of Brian's life.
"We want it to be a comfortable and enjoyable place for our boy and girl athletes to hang out," he said. "It's going to be something special in remembrance of a special person."
There is nothing that can turn back the clock and restore Brian Reed to this world, but hopefully through these efforts on his behalf his passing will become a reminder that no one, including those in the spring of their lives, should take life for granted. As does Meghan Collins, respect the gifts of this lesson that Brian paid the ultimate price to share.
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Mike Masterson is opinion editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Northwest edition.
Editorial, Pages 77 on 08/23/2009