Skip to main content

The 15 second rule

Image
By
May is graduation month for seniors in high school. Each year, headlines tell of tragic outcomes to parties planned after proms or high school graduation ceremonies. There is no more exciting time in the life of young people who are finally being able to attend the prom and second to that, is the rite of passage occurring when one has in their hands the folder holding their high school diploma. It is a time for celebration. I can remember that night of graduation in 1962 from Central High School, Phenix City, Alabama. Yes, I know that was fifty years ago. I remember the night as being special because I was asked to lead our class in the prayer as the ceremony began at the football stadium. Fifty years ago we were able to pray in public gatherings without fear someone would be offended. We had an opening and closing prayer on our high school graduation program as well as several references to God in the speeches of the honor students chosen to speak before the gathering of school board members, teachers, politicians, family, and friends for that very special night. The sad reality is, too many celebrations following such a wonderful event in the life of our youth are followed up with serious accidents bringing an end of a young life or sending the youth to jail for many years because of driving while intoxicated. The month of April was declared by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) as alcohol awareness month. The month of April was picked for the very reason of proms and high school graduation ceremonies followed by parties where alcohol is available. According to research available on the NCADD website “nearly 13,000 people are killed each year in alcohol-related accidents.” The fact list continues to seek to educate by saying, “Hundreds of thousands more are injured.” They further remind us that “Driving while intoxicated is a crime.” We could be bored with available facts on the issue of alcohol related crimes. The interesting twist in all of the information that is known about the abuse of alcohol and the harm that is inflicted upon innocent people by those who use alcohol is that government agencies, law enforcement departments and other non church related entities are leading the way in seeking to educate the public as to the danger in the use of alcohol. It is no longer just the preacher, the church, or some group of old geezers who want to keep young people from having fun warning about alcohol use, but these agencies listed above. Many of the public and government agencies warning about the major risks involved in drinking and driving or operating any motorized vehicles are not anti alcohol use, but are warning about the dangers when alcohol is consumed at too early an age. The evidence is overwhelming and the root cause is known to be factual that alcohol consumption causes a slow down in response time in a person’s body no matter what age they are when they consume it. All of that being said understand it is not a bunch of old fogies who are trying to keep the young from having fun. It is that we want you to be able to live a long time and enjoy life with all that is available to you in fulfilling your purpose for being born. As a young man, before our son was born, I learned an absolute truth that I passed on to him. The truth is simply stated: “A person’s life can be changed forever in less than 15 seconds.” I called it the “15 second rule” when our child was growing. I am sure more often than he wanted to hear, I reminded him of that rule (he now shares that rule with his children). That is not just a rule for the young, but all ages can learn from the “15 second rule.” Many people I have known over these years have shared mistakes in judgment and choices they made on the quick spur of the moment changing everything else for their entire life. There was recently a story in the media about a person who is facing a jail sentence of 186 years if convicted of the crime to which they are accused. For all the high school graduates please remember the 15 second rule; do not include alcohol in your party plans.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Now is not the time to give up

By
The sound was mournful; “I am giving up.” The young man I overheard talking on an elevator caught my attention because he was talking loudly, wanting all within hearing distance to know of his decision to quit. I could not help but engage him in conversation about his decision to quit by throwing in the towel and giving up. As I spoke with him, I heard what has become familiar speech from other people with whom I have spoken. This young person was talking about the never ending cycle of disappointment regarding the political issues we are facing in our country now. “They are all lazy, stubborn, and wrong,” this young man went on expressing his opinion to me about what he observed on the national level in the political world. As I talked more with this young man, I asked him about his level of involvement. To which he answered, “I never vote.” “I don’t understand politics,” he said. To which I then asked, “Let me get this right, you are throwing in what towel?” I am amazed at the num...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gambling is too great a risk

By
It does not take anyone with superior intelligence to understand when money is dangled in front of people, most of the time, they will take the bait. With the outcome of the vote on the Republican ballot about expanding gambling, there are people who are pushing harder to open a casino. According to the Secretary of State’s web site 31.34% of the registered voters or 1,636,371 people voted in the Primary last week. Out of that number 955, 857 voted on question number one on the Republican ballot. That question, you will remember, asked if we had more gambling with money going to education, would we approve such a move. 480,313 voted yes and 475,544 voted no. The difference in the vote was 4,769. 50.25% voted yes and 49.75% voted no. With one half of one percent voting in favor over those who opposed the question, the gambling crowd was ready to crow about the overwhelming victory. The willing media is quick to find church folks who applaud the idea that we will soon have a casin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ears Opened, Mouth Closed To Learn

By
  My parents were not blessed with much formal education, but both of them were wise in dealing with the issues of life. Mother and Daddy insisted that their children receive as much formal education as could be attained.   Daddy called it, “book learning.” My sister, brother, and I continued our training in the formal levels of education beyond college graduate degrees. It did not matter that we had surpassed our parent’s levels of formal training; in my opinion, we never reached their level of wisdom. My mother understood the basic principle of economics to be that one must never spend more than they have available. She believed in being frugal in her budget goals for our family. Daddy understood the political world like no one I have even known. He always looked at the character of a person when determining how he was going to cast his vote. With very high moral standards, Daddy held those who represented him to those same standards. As children, we often heard our parents...
Post a Comment
Read more