In Memory of Adam J Dunn. Faith, hope and love. Without these, life is worth nothing. There is a poem circulating in the emails that is to remind us of 911, but when I read it, I thought immediately of all of those that I love that I perhaps didn't have time to tell this day.
Adam Dunn, so young, was snatched from our lives on December 23, 2007. He had his whole future ahead of him. This was a senseless tragedy. No one knows exactly what happened to Adam except the people who ran him over. No one knows if the truth will ever be known. Is it possible that those responsible will become courageous and admit to what they actually saw? Or will everyone have to speculate and wonder how this senseless tragedy unfolded.
George Dunn was one of Adam's good friends. They hung out whether hunting or dirt bike riding. It was typical for Adam to spend a night on the weekends after they both hung out with their close group of friends. George was a victim as well. He physically survived after 7 hours of surgery. He still endures the pain of physical therapy. He will always bear physical and emotional scars. George is still a victim as he suffers every day, along with all of Adam's family and friends, because of this terrible tragedy. There have been no answers, months later. Only questions that seem to be never ending in our minds.
Knowing Adam Dunn for who he was, all we can speculate is that Adam saw George get hit by a car and he went to help. George saw the car coming at him. He yelled "car" and Adam shut the car door. He sat inside the car while George was pressed up against the back door and the running board. He had no way to know that the car coming in his direction would swerve right into him and change his and Adam's life forever. A few minutes of cell phone hunting turned into a lifelong tragedy.
The last two things George remembers seeing are car headlights directed right at him and Adam Dunn in the front seat of his car. He was being twirled around from the first impact and then the second car hit him again and threw him in front of Adam's truck. Can you imagine? Adam had to be watching this unfold. He hears George scream "car". He shuts the door. He must have watched as the car sped toward them, but he probably never imagined that the car would cross over onto their own side of the road. There was no need to worry. It was just a car.
In horror, he must have watched as the car turned toward him. He may have looked back to see where George was, but even if he did, it was too late. The first car hit George. I can see Adam throwing open the car door, his heart pumping, his mind racing as he rushed to help his friend, George. Horrifically, a second car came speeding behind the first car and Adam was struck and killed. We will never know if Adam saw the second car coming.
We weren't there and we didn't see, but knowing Adam Dunn and his character, he would not watch his friend get hurt and out of fear, just sit there, frozen, unable to move in an effort to protect himself. We could see him take immediate action, rushing to help his injured friend. That was Adam's character. In rushing to help his friend, how could he have known that his own life was about to be snatched away. What if he did see a second car coming, but set his safety aside to help George. We believe that his focus was on helping his injured friend. Each of his friends have a loyalty to one another, even to this day. We remember Adam as a hero who died tragically and senselessly as he tried to help a friend in need and as someone who would have done it all over again without hesitation.
There were so many who never got to say goodbye to Adam. It was just another normal day. Nothing tragic was supposed to happen. There was no need to say goodbye or I love you. There would always be tomorrow. I even saw Adam walking with some of his friends in the mall that tragic night. I rarely go to the mall. I rarely see people I know, but there was Adam. I didn't think anything of it. It was a typical night. I didn't want to interfere or embarrass him by walking up to him while he was with his friends. After all, I'm a mom and what teen / young man wants a mom around when they are with their friends. So I sat sipping my iced tea. I was sure I would see him at our house soon when he came to spend the night.
Little did I know that he would be on his way to spend the night, but never make it. We can wonder why till the day we die too, but only God knows the answer to that. For Adam, there was to be no tomorrow, at least on this earth. Adam lives on in eternity, physically absent from us, but spiritually, his soul lives on. That is why there is still hope. Hope that we will see him again in a much better place.
As I read this email, I thought of Adam and his family and his friends. I thought of my grieving son who lived and who is grateful, but who has to grapple with the fact that his good friend died. I thought how often we take life and each other for granted and just expect it to all be the same tomorrow as it is today. We can't live in fear, nor can we predict what tomorrow will bring, but we can live like there will be no tomorrow.
It is with these thoughts and the thought that not everyone was able to say goodbye to Adam, just like not everyone was able to say goodbye to the victims of 911 or the millions of other tragedies that occur in this world. That makes this all the more important. So let's remember what we read here today, let's honor Adam for his heroic effort, and let's remember that this could happen to any one of us and because of that, we should always be prepared. The author of this is unknown.
"IF I KNEW
If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.
If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more
If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.
If I knew it would be the last time,!
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say 'I love you,'
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.
If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.
For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.
There will l always be another day
to say 'I love you,'
And certainly there's another chance
to say our 'Anything I can do?'
But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget.
Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.
So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,
That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.
So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear
Take time to say 'I'm sorry,'
'Please forgive me,' 'Thank you,' or 'It's okay.'
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.
-In memory of Adam J. Dunn, December 23, 2007 In honor of Adam's parents and family. Please keep all family and friends in your prayers.
About this Author
Margaret Dunn is the mother of George Dunn who survived this terrible tragedy.
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