This poem was sent to me in a forwarded e-mail long ago.
Unfortunately I do not know the author so I can give them the credit I feel they deserve.
Whoever you are, thank you for giving us all cause for thought!

Moonlight Ride
(Author Unknown)

Jenny was so happy about the house they had found.
For once in her life 'twas on the right side of town.
She unpacked her things with such great ease.
As she watched her new curtains blow in the breeze.

How wonderful it was to have her own room.
School would be starting, she'd have friends over soon.
There'd be sleep-overs, and parties; she was so happy
It's just the way she wanted her life to be.

On the first day of school, everything went great.
She made new friends and even got a date!
She thought, "I want to be popular and I'm going to be,
Because I just got a date with the star of the team!"

To be known in this school you had to have a clout,
And dating this guy would sure help her out.
There was only one problem stopping her fate.
Her parents had said she was too young to date.

"Well, I just won't tell them the entire truth.
They won't know the difference; what's there to lose?"
Jenny asked to stay with her friends that night.
Her parents frowned but said, "All right."

Excited, she got ready for the big event
But as she rushed around like she had no sense,
She began to feel guilty about all the lies,
But what's a pizza, a party, and a moonlight ride?

Well the pizza was good, and the party was great,
But the moonlight ride would have to wait.
For Jeff was half drunk by this time.
But he kissed her and said that he was just fine.

Then the room filled with smoke and Jeff took a puff.
Jenny couldn't believe he was smoking that stuff.
Now Jeff was ready to ride to the point
But only after he'd smoked another joint.

They jumped in the car for the moonlight ride,
Not thinking that he was too drunk to drive.
They finally made it to the point at last,
And Jeff started trying to make a pass.

A pass is not what Jenny wanted at all
(and by a pass, I don't mean playing football).
"Perhaps my parents were right....maybe I am too young.
Boy, how could I ever, ever be so dumb."

With all of her might, she pushed Jeff away:
"Please take me home, I don't want to stay."
Jeff cranked up the engine and floored the gas.
In a matter of seconds they were going too fast.

As Jeff drove on in a fit of wild anger,
Jenny knew that her life was in danger.
She begged and pleaded for him to slow down,
But he just got faster as they neared the town.

"Just let me get home! I'll confess that I lied.
I really went out for a moonlight ride."
Then all of a sudden, she saw a big flash.
"Oh God, Please help us! We're going to crash!"

She doesn't remember the force of impact.
Just that everything all of a sudden went black.
She felt someone remove her from the twisted rubble,
And heard, "Call an ambulance! These kids are in trouble!"

Voices she heard...a few words at best.
But she knew there were two cars involved in the wreck.
Then wondered to herself if Jeff was all right,
And if the people in the other car were alive.

She awoke in the hospital to faces so sad.
"You've been in a wreck and it looks pretty bad."
These voices echoed inside her head,
As they gently told her that Jeff was dead.

They said "Jenny, we've done all we can do.
But it looks as if we'll lose you too."
"But the people in the other car!?" Jenny cried.
"We're sorry, Jenny, they also died."

Jenny prayed, "God, forgive me for what I've done
I only wanted to have just one night of fun."
"Tell those people's family, I've made their lives dim,
And wish I could return their families to them."

"Tell Mom and Dad I'm sorry I lied,
And that it's my fault so many have died.
Oh, nurse, won't you please tell them that for me?"
The nurse just stood there ~ she never agreed.

But took Jenny's hand with tears in her eyes
And a few moments later Jenny died.
A man asked the nurse, "Why didn't you do your best
To bid that girl her one last request?"

She looked at the man with eyes oh so sad.
"Because the people in the other car were her mom and dad."
This story is sad and unpleasant but True,
So young people take heed, it could have been you.

I'm sitting here with tears rolling down my face...what a sad but simple truth...DRINKING AND DRIVING DO NOT MIX

G-Mom

So very true!!!

I think I read this story awhile back.. and it still brings tears to my eyes. *sigh*

Don't drink & drive.. don't ride with others who've been drinking or other stuff, and don't LIE to your family!

Meg

My daughter had to call me one time to pick her up from a friend's. She was more scared to ride with who she left with, than of me being upset because they had been drinking. Good thing, too. I would have had a cow if she had ridden home with him. That is something that cannot be stressed enough. Don't drink and drive and don't ride with others who do.

Dianna

I think we are preaching to the choir here. We have to let our children know we will come and get them anytime, anywhere if drinking is involved. And no getting mad at the time. There used to be a contract saying this very thing for the parents and kids to sign but I dont know how to get one now.

You know,
At the time my daughter was a teenager getting into the drinking scene age I introduced alcohol to her my self. I got her what she thought she wanted and let her have her way. At home of course, but by the time it was over and the next day rolled around she was thinking twice about drinking. (I guess since it wasn't taboo for her anymore it lost some of its intrigue and appeal.) I never said a word but when it came time to go off to college she was the one who got to be designated driver and advised her friends when they were about to over do it... She saved quite a few of them that way. Not that that is the way for everyone to go but it worked for her. My son on the other hand won't even get near the stuff because its not healthy for the body... How's that for good thinking???

awww that is so sad thanks so much for posting that Bill. Tricia that is exactly what my dad tells me and my brother. he's 16(my brother)and I'm 19 and my dad has always told us that if we want to drink to just let him know because he'd rather have us drink in his precense(sp?) just in case we get drunk instead of drinking with our friends or anybody else because he doesn't want anybody to hurt us or take advantage of us while we're intoxicated. I don't know about my brother but I hate the smell of alcohol. alcoholism is in my family something terrible so we really have to be careful.

Thanks for sharing that Bill. Always gives me goosebumps when I read things like that. My daughter is a freshman in high school, and is of the teenage mind that these things happen to other people. Every year at our high school they put a very badly wrecked car on the lawn by the school entrance to try to emphasize what happens when driving under the influence. I asked her if they had an assembly about it, and her reply was that it was only for the seniors! What a bunch of bull!!! As if they were the only ones who would be getting into cars, especially at this time of year with spring fever, proms, graduation parties, etc...

Looks like I'm going to have to contact the principal and see what can be done about getting ALL the kids involved in this.

Two years ago, 3 girls decided to ditch school at 10A.M.!!! They were already drunk - the kids were bringing clear alcoholic drinks to school in water bottles!!!!!!! They hit a tree - none of them were wearing seatbelts!!! Two of the girls were ejected - one died. Now the driver has to live with the fact that she killed her best friend for the rest of her life. So very very sad.

Now they have a guardhouse and 2 swinging barriers that must be lifted by the guard during school hours, but there is still one exit that is not guarded - what are they thinking???

The D.A.R.E. program here is a joke. They work with the kids in the elementary schools, not in the upper grades where it is soooooo much more important when they are drinking and driving. By the time they reach the upper grades they think the program is a farce. Of course when we question the authorities about this, it always comes down to the budget - baloney!

Anyway... now that I'm off my soapbox, I hope everyone has a very safe weekend with your loved ones.

This is so sad The youth of today have so much on their plate..... so much more then I had in my time. Yes, there was "weed" but only a few smoked and we knew who "they" were. I long for the good old days when such tragedies were few and far between. When school dances were "the party" and there was no parking lot for students because the only car was the one dad needed to get to work in.

How sad

Nice, Bill. Thanks for sharing.

Makes me more than grateful that I am even here... Not that I drank and drove, but just the whole partying scene, high school and college. I hope that my neices/nephews do not do some of the stuff I did. It seems like most kids are "wiser" now.

Yeah...we weren't even allowed to drive to school even if we had a car! I got suspended twice for getting caught driving to school. (That's just twice for getting caught driving...I got suspended MANY times for MANY other offenses!)

uhhhhh.....no comment!
(...I was thinking about some of our excursions!)


Cindy

Cynthia Louise!!!

I was trying to act like I was a little bit wiser now and all grown up! You blew it.... :p