Essays on Death and Suicide - Death of My Father

Death of My Father

The most significant and life changing experience in my life was when my dad died two years ago. It really awakened me to how the world works and how fragile life is. I remember the day perfectly. I was working with my guitar teacher, George at Nick Rail Music, when my dad passed away in a car crash at Mussel Shoals.

Later we learned that his heart had stopped while he was driving on the freeway due to an infection in his heart. Therefore his car went out of control when he lost consciousness, and drifted into the oncoming traffic.

Unbeknownst to my mom and me, we went home and I went to my friend Land's house, who lived downstairs in the condo complex that we lived in at the time. We spent the entire afternoon together and surprisingly my mom didn't even call me up for dinner, so I stayed with them and we had a barbecue. I remember sitting on the bench eating a grilled Portobello mushroom, relaxing with Land and his parents, and thinking how great life was. After dinner Land's mom went off somewhere, I wasn't sure where, but I just figured she went for a Pepsi run as usual.

I stayed and listened to music while Land worked on his guitar. Then I got the expected call to go back upstairs. So I said goodnight and went on my way. My mom sounded lost and very calm on the phone, not her usual happy self. Wondering what was happening I slowly opened the door to see my mom and Land's mom, Carol, sitting together on the blue and white couches. My mom asked me to sit down, so I sat between them while my mother began to explain how my dad had been in a car accident earlier that afternoon. "His car veered into the oncoming traffic and was hit from the side...he didn't survive." I remember at that moment Carol clenching my shoulder so much it hurt, but I was numb to the pain, we all were.

I didn't cry. None of us did. We were unable to comprehend how this could possibly be true. My dad had gone to work that morning seemingly fine.