December 6th, 1989: I still miss her after 16 years
16 years ago today, my best friend Anne-Marie Edward was savagely gunned down in an engineering faculty in Montreal. A crazy gunman who was pissed off at the fact that women could now become engineers (among other things). He was successful in killing 14 bright, beautiful young women before ending his own life. He wanted to send a message to all women about this.
I heard his message loud and clear.
He stole someone very dear to me, someone all of 21 years old.
Anne-Marie never got to know the joys of motherhood, of growing old with her high school friends and basically missed out on all of her adult life.
For several years after this happened, I had nightmares about guns, being pursued by killers, and other nightmares that left me waking up in a panic. I think it's been all of 2 years now since the last one.
After I had my son, after I fell so desperately in love with him, after I realized the bond between mothers and their children, I wonder how her mom made it through.
She was a real phoenix, raising from the ashes to become a leader in gun control laws in Canada. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how effective these laws are in real life. A gun registry is not going to stop the bullet when a crazy person pulls the trigger. Nevertheless, one must never stop trying to better this world. Because other children are going to die if we don't.
This post had nothing to do with my 73rd day as a teacher - in fact, this day of the year is always about remembering the good times, remembering precious moments, an unforgettable friendship, finding solace in the fact that I have a great guardian angel watching over me.
And most of all, remembering that life is precious and can be taken away from you in an instant. Which is why you must make every day count.
I certainly try to.
You can read about that dreadful event here and even see a picture of Anne-Marie here (she is on the top left corner).
I heard his message loud and clear.
He stole someone very dear to me, someone all of 21 years old.
Anne-Marie never got to know the joys of motherhood, of growing old with her high school friends and basically missed out on all of her adult life.
For several years after this happened, I had nightmares about guns, being pursued by killers, and other nightmares that left me waking up in a panic. I think it's been all of 2 years now since the last one.
After I had my son, after I fell so desperately in love with him, after I realized the bond between mothers and their children, I wonder how her mom made it through.
She was a real phoenix, raising from the ashes to become a leader in gun control laws in Canada. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how effective these laws are in real life. A gun registry is not going to stop the bullet when a crazy person pulls the trigger. Nevertheless, one must never stop trying to better this world. Because other children are going to die if we don't.
This post had nothing to do with my 73rd day as a teacher - in fact, this day of the year is always about remembering the good times, remembering precious moments, an unforgettable friendship, finding solace in the fact that I have a great guardian angel watching over me.
And most of all, remembering that life is precious and can be taken away from you in an instant. Which is why you must make every day count.
I certainly try to.
You can read about that dreadful event here and even see a picture of Anne-Marie here (she is on the top left corner).
I am sorry for the loss of your friend. I'm not so sure gun control is the answer. The bad guys are always going to find ways to get guns.
Posted by
Lucy Stern |
9:11 p.m.
I remember when it happened. Thank you for reminding us of this senseless tragedy.
Posted by
Anonymous |
10:55 p.m.
So young. What a horrible, horrible tragedy.
Posted by
Fred |
8:08 a.m.