Amen, Minnie. So many people are so quick to judge without knowing the facts. My heart goes out to the family of the cyclist who was killed, but also to the 19-year-old girl and her family. Whether driver attention was an issue, we don't yet know. That's a well-traveled stretch of road with a high speed limit. Bike lane or not, there's danger there. From what I know, this girl is a good kid from a good family. Maybe driver inexeperience was an issue, but I'll wait to learn the details. Junior Critter is not yet 18, and I pray every time he leaves the house. It's a dangerous world out there.
When I was in my 20's and fate had not yet "gifted" me with the myriad learning experiences I've had since, I, too, thought the world was an orderly place. Just do the right thing, stay out of bad places, make what you deem to be good judgments and "bad" things simply wouldn't happen. What a naive view of the world! Sometimes, despite our best efforts and intentions, really awful things happen. Sometimes to bad people, which seems "fair," and sometimes to good, which seems not so much. As I hit 50, I realize that the Universe in which we live is more complex than I'm able to figure out. So I rely on faith and compassion to get through it. It's not an easy fix, and requires constant work, but it's the only thing that makes any sense to me. A little less judgment and a little more compassion, please.