Again.
I had half-written a post about Hall0ween when someone drove up and it is resting somewhere and I can't remember what I was going to say.

So until I sort it out I will continue with the suicide-type theme. As ANOTHER of the children's friends has d1ed. I know I have mentioned before about the really weirdly large number of our friends and acquaintances who have d1ed young ... and now it has happened again. What is an average number of dead pe0ple to know? I can't believe that at least thirty, in my case, (all of whom I would be glad to ask to a party and all gone while still middle-aged at the oldest), is normal. While my three children between them can count at least twelve and there are probably a few more ... that is definitely unusual.

I can only think that we have a vast acquaintance due to many different large schools attended; universities; a range of jobs; a range of boyfriends etc. with big groups of friends and from living in various parts of the country with local social lives.

In the children's case the causes of d3ath were random and had no sort of pattern. From congenital illness to out-of-the-blue illness. Falling off a high wall; falling off a low wall; train crash; car crash; bus crash; drowning; drug overd0se; p3anut allergy; sk1ing accident; and the strangest (and the youngest) slipping over on a coral r3ef and being stabb3d through the h3art by a sp1ke.

This was another car cr@sh and they were all completely drunk so the dr1ver .. another friend .. will go to pr1son.

When they were younger I encouraged them to make our flat into the main 'hanging out' place. Their part of it is on an upstairs floor with its own front door onto the communal staircase so it wasn't that annoying for me and I REALLY wanted to feel that they were as safe as I could make it. Their friends couldn't believe that I didn't mind them smoking d0pe in my house as all their parents freaked at any mention of 'drugs'. But, as I said many times, when I was young not one person d1ed from smoking while quite a few d1ed from being drunk. And that still seems to be the case .. the one overd0se had many other factors - including - being drunk.

Well ... it is all very sad .. but the children seem fairly resilient and each time are incredibly upset for a week, then vaguely sad for another week and then it seems to drift away into the past. While I still regularly think about many of my dead fr1ends .. especially when I am making up a list for a party.
- posted by Iris @ 11/13/2005 10:45:00 PM comment