Ben, I spend alot of time on another board on which someone asked about his little sister's (16) heavy drinking. Should he "rat" on her to their parents?

Everyone came on with the general attitude of "what, drinking every weekend until she passes out or throws up? What's to tell on her about? Every teenager does this."

I came on with about twenty links with statistics to traffic accidents involving alcohol and the correlation between unchecked teen drinking and later alcoholism, and I got flamed.

I guess I feel differently about it since I lost my sister to a drunk driver 21 years ago.

I am not a teetotaller and have nothing against responsible drinking, but I have very, very strong opinions about drinking and driving.

I don't have the words to express my sorrow upon hearing about the loss of your cousin. Being the mother of a 17 year old boy, I feel especially linked. I have never quite been able to handle kids dying, but especially when the reason is so, so preventable.

Your pain jumps right out of your post, and I wish there was something I could say to make it feel better. But time is the only thing that will ease your pain, even though it will never go away.

I am holding you and your family in my prayers, that God's loving grace will help y'all find comfort in this, the worst thing you will probably ever experience.

And, thank you for letting us know. Yes, this is a "feel good" board, but that means also that this is a good place to come when you need to "feel good" because things are happening that are so horribly bad.