Too Young

by Karen Paraskevakos
(Bowdoin, Maine)

On October 5 2009 I lost my son to a drunk driver.
It has only been a month but the pain and emptiness is so strong. He was the all American boy. He made everyone smile and loved everyone he met. He has a 2 1/2 yr old daughter who will need a kidney transplant later in life and that was Richies hope to be the perfect match to save his little girl. Now she is left with out her father and will never know how great a man he was and how much his world revolved around her.
He was the type of person you met and instantly liked and wanted to be around. He had a great sense of humor and was happy with his life and the direction it was going. His had plans for a summer wedding with his pregnant girlfriend this year. She will give birth in March to a little boy who also will never know his dad.
He was a hard worker and a very loyal son and friend.

All the dreams and hopes we had for him and his kids are painful memories now. There is no way to put in words how very special he was and how he made everyone feel special around him.

But a young man decided to have a few to many drinks and get in his car and take a life of someone so young and with so much to give to others. What bothers me most is this young man that killed my son has had previous OUI convictions, but he was still able to go on drinking and driving which has cost me my precious son.
I will go on but I will never forget and I will never feel normal or the happiness I did before Oct 5.
I love you Richie and I am and will always be proud of who and what you are!