Minutes to Memories

An unspeakable tragedy occurred within shouting distance of my office yesterday, though I didn’t learn about it until last night. Police aren’t releasing details yet, so I won’t tell the little bit more I know than was reported by the news media this morning.

A father was supposed to take his nine-month-old baby to daycare, a task he didn’t normally do. He forgot the baby was in his vehicle, and drove to work instead. The baby died from the oppressive heat while buckled in a car seat.

It is hard to imagine a greater tragedy.

The first responder fireman is the brother-in-law of one of our friends. The baby went to daycare with the child of one of our friends. The mother works with three of our friends. The father works less than a hundred yards from our church building.

There are no words for occasions like this. Only a deep, dark silence.