March 15, 2006

• hmmmm.... if this was supposed to make me laugh, it failed.... For some reason I'm having trouble finding humor in a young person's accidental death...
• I'm looking for the signs that this was supposed to be a humorous item.. Not really seeing any..
• Only 18. Sad. Have to wonder whether she realized a train was coming. Or could she have been depressed and chosen this method of suicide? There just isn't much information given beyond her Miss Deaf Texas title. jereboam, have ye got Tallulah back yet?
• I thought the same thing, bees. How could she not have felt the train's vibration?
• Think she had to feel it, Chy. And I think -- at 18, and in college -- she had to be aware that train tracks are dangerous places. So what was she doing walking along the tracks? Was this a usual habit of hers? Why was she there? Many questions. All too few answers. There dang well better be an investigation -- but wait, I forgot, this is Texas.
• The only thing I could think of was alcohol-related death. Sad indeed.
• Yup. Sad. The only vaguely 'amusing' (if that's the word, and I'm not sure it is) thing was learning that there is a 'Miss Deaf Texas' title.
• jealous much, kit?
• I already own the Miss Hospitality Merseyside title. I didn't actually win it, but it's MINE now...
• I suggest you board the 'Freak Train' mentioned in the article, kit.
• He owns that, too.
• I stand corrected...in reading the post again, you're right, there is no hint of it being in jest... My apologies. I guess I just couldn't get a handle on the reason for the post and jumped to a possibly incorrect conclusion...
• certainly she would have felt the vibrations. altho many things set her apart, she was still an 18 year old girl. so many people that age, of whatever condition or status, have poor judgement w/r/t alcohol or drugs, have bouts of very serious depression/self-doubt etc., it seems unlikely this was pure accident... and yes, sad.
• Looks to be an unfortunate accident and very sad.
• Very sad, indeed. Unknowable in a 'meaning of life' kind of way. She seemed to have a lot going for her.
• trying really hard to resist commenting on the dangers of cellphones...but f a i li n g hhh u hh!
• *holds index finger up to Medusa, continues talking on cell phone*
• I'm having a hard time parsing that first sentence in in your last article, Islander. The Texas Association of the Deaf Board regrettably announces the bereavement of its reigning Queen Tara Rose That seems an awkward construction. I read that as someone else had died. bereavement. n : state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one [syn: mourning] bereave 1. To leave desolate or alone, especially by death: “Cry aloud for the man who is dead, for the woman and children bereaved” (Alan Paton). 2. Archaic. To take (something valuable or necessary), typically by force. Is the word commonly used in the archaic form in that region?
• GramMa, I surely ain't from Texas but I surmise that the author of the article has confused the meaning of the word 'bereavement' with the phrase 'untimely and tragic death' or some such, which is understandable as the author was probably experiencing some distress at the time.
• bereave, bereaved, bereft most say the culprit here is death, an enemy which marks an end to beating heart and indrawn breath yet I have known a few to hold another view these don't defend against death but turn instead as if to greet a long-loved friend those the dying ones have left may freeze with longing cut adrift or char with rage against such final usage being left to live and choose takes all our courage
• "Accident" my butt. There have been several "accidents" with trains at my university (which for some dumb-ass reason has a campus that is bisected by the Grand Trunk railroad [yes, that's where Grand Funk got their name]). Every time it happens they call it an "accident" and add more chains and signs and stuff at the crossings. Most people understand that calling it an accident is generally a nice way of saying "suicide by train". Suicide isn't a pretty thing, and explaining it as an accident (even when there is clear witness evidence that said student intentionally walked into the side of the train, as happened here once) is just the local authorities way of trying to save the famly some public embarassment on top of their grief. If it was actually an accident, that sucks - one of the students in my class (!) was hit by a car and killed a few weeks ago (when I see her name on the class list it still is upsetting...) but man, college age kids are much less accident-prone than they are prone to depression and dumb actions.
• One was curious, and with similar thoughts as Beeswacky, ".. Or could she have been depressed and chosen this method of suicide? It is noteable that blind persons are acutely aware of vibrations. Vibrations from approaching trains can be felt even by the sighted, paticularly if as close to the rails as this young lady had to be. Add that she was blind from birth and would most certainly be highly attuned to such things as changes in air pressure caused by the approach of larger vehicles; the occurance in itself begs many a question, then as you say Beeswacky, "...There dang well better be an investigation -- but wait, I forgot, this is Texas". Islander, No matter what the circumstance, Texan use of written 'English' is consistently appalling, and in it's spoken form, almost unrecognizable as a tool of communication.
• Beeswacky, one more week and Tallulah will be welcomed home. Her luxurious accomodation awaits. As an aside, one is informed that the word "cocky" refers both to Pink & Greys, and to farmers. No worries mate! Ah yes, and when down the pub last night (and by the gods, beer is needed here! Nothing else washes the dust from one's throat) a 'new mate' commented thus, "Jezza, yuhs not a bad bloke for a Pommy Yank but wendja swalla tha dikshenerry mate?"
• Oooh, not just a Pommy or a Yank, but a Pommy Yank? Cool!
• And a Posh Pommy Yank at that! We'll be expecting photos of Tallulah, of course...
• Every spring here in my gorge-filled collegetown hometown, there are "accidents" where students die "falling" into the gorges around campus. Same sort of thing you see where you are, CLfrogs. It's very sad that so many of these kids feel so much pressure.
• Islander, one is embarrassed to admit that one is ignorant of the method used to post photographs. It is probable this is a positive for Monkey Filter denizens as one's posts would assault the eyes with images of all kinds .. heh!