“Gun Death” Horrible

This one comes with apologies from Whipped Cream Difficulties.

A toddler died and her mother was injured Tuesday night when a tree branch broke and fell on them as the woman pushed her daughter in a stroller in Tomball.

The incident occurred about 8 p.m. outside a business at Crescent and Quinn, said Capt. Rick Grassi, spokesman for the Tomball Police Department.

Grassi said the woman was pushing her 18-month-old baby in a stroller to an event at the business when a 20-foot-long branch gave way and fell on them. Both were severely injured.

God, I’ve covered a ton of “Gun Deaths” of young children, and this is probably the one that hits me the hardest. In the past they’ve involved monstrous human beings so broken that the part of them that could never hurt a baby just doesn’t work, or massive acts of god like floods or storms, or at least instances where some well-meaning person does something stupid or negligent.

We had a massive branch fall down near us this summer, but even that was in a heavy downpour, and it was a weak branch, now covered with what was likely several hundred pounds of raindrops, and all it took was one squirrel walking out to the end to supply enough leverage to bring what amounted to half a tree down into the road.

Thankfully nobody was hurt. In this case it couldn’t have been very bad weather, otherwise they wouldn’t have been out. I’ve spend enough time in the woods to have seen more than a few big branches, and at least one large tree topple for what appears from a distance to be no reason at all. Its kind of interesting when you’re just out in the quiet of nature. It becomes horrible when I think that I or my baby might be under it.

The post was sent with apologies, but frankly it was interesting to write about for the “Gun Death?” Files.

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2 Responses to “Gun Death” Horrible

  1. Dwight Brown says:

    I had a lot of qualms about sending that to you, Weerd, because I thought it might hit too close to home.

    But you’re right; it is worth writing about in the “gun death” files. There’s this persistent and pernicious attitude among far too many people that they can file the rough edges off of society. People get shot by guns? Get rid of guns. People get stabbed by knives? Get rid of knives. People get beaten to death by a board with a nail in it? Ban boards. And nails. And baseball bats. And make everyone wear helmets all the time, because God forbid you should fall and hurt your head.

    We still don’t control the lightning. Or the tree branch. Or the falling rock. But far too many people won’t rest until we do, until everyone is wrapped in foam rubber and eating pudding (to avoid choking deaths) for their own safety’s sake.

    These are people who see Jack Williamson’s “With Folded Hands…” as a Utopian fairy tale rather than a horror story.

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