He Said It Was the Saddest Story He Ever Wrote 1
Gene Weingarten looks at what happens when a parent forgets a baby in a car to die in the heat:
The wealthy do, it turns out. And the poor, and the middle class. Parents of all ages and ethnicities do it. Mothers are just as likely to do it as fathers. It happens to the chronically absent-minded and to the fanatically organized, to the college-educated and to the marginally literate. In the last 10 years, it has happened to a dentist. A postal clerk. A social worker. A police officer. An accountant. A soldier. A paralegal. An electrician. A Protestant clergyman. A rabbinical student. A nurse. A construction worker. An assistant principal. It happened to a mental health counselor, a college professor and a pizza chef. It happened to a pediatrician. It happened to a rocket scientist.
Last year it happened three times in one day, the worst day so far in the worst year so far in a phenomenon that gives no sign of abating.
The facts in each case differ a little, but always there is the terrible moment when the parent realizes what he or she has done, often through a phone call from a spouse or caregiver. This is followed by a frantic sprint to the car. What awaits there is the worst thing in the world.
Read the whole thing. And, for discussion, tune into Tuesday’s chat.
H/T Karen for the link.
March 9, 2009 at 9:25 am
Every time I see a story like this in the news, I cry. For everyone. The parents, the child, the “perpetrator.” The one of the grandfather who forgot his grandchild was the worst. I believe he was actually given a jail sentence. What more punishment could he possibly need?