About the van in Utah

One of the many reasons Mitch Albom's book, "Tuesdays with Morrie," worked was his subtle reminder of real life events intermittent with his story of learning one more time from his dying professor. When we read the van in Utah that overturned and killed eight students and for some reason we can't link to the stories here, we had that feeling.

As wrapped as we get in our own drama, there's always a death or an accident or a lightning strike or a dying 10-year-old offensive coordinator to remind us that life is precious and life is short, and life is every other Hallmark cliche out there.

So today we may slow down a little bit, just to make sure we don't end up on the side of the highway, one head-lighted car in pieces and our head rolling down the embankment like Ralphie's bowling ball in Sopranos' Season Four.

We'll take it slow to appreciate what we have, and then we'll apply to Hallmark to write cards in Kansas City. Or maybe finally go hang out with the wheelchair-bound burn victim across the parking lot who crafts rap lyrics and designs tattoos.