Auntie Charo's Soapbox

We seem to build buildings then hope that everything goes smoothly. It might have been a good idea to built the new skateboarding rink in Dededo...where they thought was a good place to build it......build it and they will come...our children are so hungry for places to go to just be children....but....we chose a place to build the rink without thinking that it was being built without a water fountain or bathroom facilities.....just where in the hell did these builders think the kids were going to relieve themselves and in the hot sun and the physical stress of skateboarding, surely someone thought that these kids would be thirsty at some time....
Well, they didn't...they built it and probably decided that they would make the changes as the days passed....unfortunately, the first lesson was a fatal one as two girls ran across the 'big' road to go to the bathroom. It was just after dark on a night that they could be outside because there was a holiday the next day....I have no idea where the curfew law comes into play here, but the girls walked from their homes in Liguan to be at this new magnet for kids to be.
The mayor of Dededo said that she had called for the non-working streetlights to be changed a few days before the auto-pedestrain accident...she....or Dededo are obviously not a priority....the lamps weren't changed until days after a 13-yr-old was hit by a car being driven(allegedly)by a drunk driver. Two really bad things looking for a place to happen.
So now we're all talking to anyone who'll listen about how we're going to do this, do that...and I ask you, why didn't ask these questions before we even opened up that skateboard rink? Why do we always wait until someons is killed before we think it's the right time to act?
I have my own questions about why the child's parents didn't walk her or drive her to the rink....I certainly didn't have the freedom to be on my own after dark on any evening, let alone a Sunday one. Let there be no doubt, I didn't like being 'bound' at home for my safety or those of my sibling but at least I lived past 13....but times have changed within our lives and our children are allowed all sorts of freedom...unfortunately, the other girl that survived the accident (I think without injury) will probably be a little less free...thankfully, she may live out a good life past her teen age years.
My heart breaks for the girl's family and though they could have been more restrictive with their young daughter, their lives are changed forever. There will always be a big void in their lives......Alas! This is an accident that could have been prevented.
The coming weeks, the Dededo mayor will move heaven and earth to get the rink 'right'.....too late for Joanna Jasmin.
And while we're at it? Why are we still tolerating the children being passengers in the flatbed of a pickup? Oh....forget I asked...I already know the answer. When one or two, maybe four children are thrown out of the back and the pickup rolls over them.....the dudes at GPD, the legislature and maybe even the children's parents will do everything they can to 'make things right', wow, we might even enforce the law that prohits children from being passengers at a place meant for cargo!
Too soon old, too late smart!
Just a question....couldn't they(Ghura et others) have built the rink back there where the kids play soccer? Believe me....the kids will still run across that damn freeway to get to their friends....they don't know any better!