Condolences to those who have lost loved ones in dangerous outings. Anyone Can Call 9-1-1 to Report Dangerous Water or Risk Events. National Guidelines Need to Be Aired.

From the CT Hartford Courant, I am sharing the very sad news of the passing of two teen friends in the Farmington River, even after having been warned of the dangerous conditions on Thursday, July 15, 2021. "Lucas Brewer, 15, a student at Plainville High, and Anthony Nagore, 17, who was visiting family in Plainville, have been missing since Thursday, when they are believed to have gone for a swim in the river on the Avon side at about 1 p.m. A nearby resident reportedly warned the boys that the water was dangerous due to the recent heavy rainfall, but they continued toward the river."

I hope we can learn more about the families and friends of these two young men who have tragically crossed over from this realm to the next in such a difficult turn of events. Whether they did not understand the dangerous river currents or thought they could manage them, clearly there is a lot for everyone in one area of the state, country and world to take to heart and clarify among people:

Water Can Be Deadly! People need to doublecheck outings and taking sudden risks as well. Plenty of people 'just don't realize' hidden dangers of heights, water, rocks, climbing, currents, and even driving, riding motorcycles or other vehicles or even walking on a road (distracted by cell phones or not listening due to earphones or involved in 'other' activities whether talking even on a hands free device, eating, getting upset or even being really excited or tired.)

There will be time to consider more of the factors that played into these two going to the river, but hopefully everyone can honor their legacies and realize the importance of making 'responsible adultlike and community approved plans.' There should be people ready to respond appropriately and with safe intervention tactics (maybe loud noise of non-compliant folks, flares, life saver rings and vests, and throw ropes, and volunteer crews.) Ideally all minors should be closely monitored and face appropriate related consequences of breaking rules, curfews and boundaries of all kinds so danger and difficulty could be minimized. A year of supervised driving would not be too much before a new driver 'goes it alone' since many learn sporadically and there are many situations to adjust to and gain greater skill at handling, ideally without other passengers than a responsible adult.

Along with the dangers of drugs and reckless driving, being without responsible adult supervision and in dangerous water are lessons our family and communities have pondered (in part to semi-annual letters to editor from myself and other articles about the dangers of whitewater due to drownings in our area, particularly along the CT sections of the Housatonic River.)

There is more about that challenge and learning on Remembering Kaelan Alexander Palmer Paton and other posts on this blog Livfully.org. Like so many issues, relationships, parenting, youth issues,  social, school, town guidelines and communication are all key factors.

I know there was at least one also in the MA section a few years ago with one young man passing when with many others. That one was on the night of a full moon and not in whitewater but with a group of friends.

Our teen son Kaelan Alexander Palmer Paton died on June 16th, 2009 in a quick turn of events from 'jumping in along a dangerous waterfall' to him rescuing two friends  while he was still on the riverbank and then trying to help a third who was in peril in the water.

That young man was able to be saved by rope rescuer Skip Kosciusko who was a volunteer and a tree climber with ropes in his truck and able to get there within minutes of the timely 911 call made by borrowing a cell phone by a driver passing by who stopped at their request.

The odds of that one person being saved, with no others harmed in the process is a miracle we can still celebrate as the lads are in their late 20s now, 12 years later.

 I made a two short videos today of the Falls in Falls Village and Salisbury CT ( the two towns marking one side of the river each.) The water is incredibly high, much like back in 2009...and the sheer magnitude and force is astounding.

While a draw for people to observe, it's incredibly powerful so nothing to get too close too (so keep a 100 feet back for instance, and don't risk being on a high path from which one could trip or otherwise fall down a hill and end up even along the edge of the high river.) That's true for any body of water, and particularly important to heed if one is under the influence, upset or even feeling elated or unaware of the dangers.

Sadly there was someone trying to warn a person who was drunk about not going in a quiet part of the river, but that resulted in the person being more determined to do so. Having his clothes and boots on and no one close enough to help him out immediately though they were nearby but not able to get the boat going, he sank rather quickly.

Even without a fast current it took a week or more for his body to be recovered. That was the case with our son Kaelan Paton's heroic form as well, floating seven miles down to West Cornwall CT near the Covered Bridge before being retrieved by yet more volunteers, having to act quickly once alerted by a trainman on a morning run up the railroad.

Kaelan Paton's Memorial Service is on youtube.com and sadly would be a fitting way to take time to reflect on the passing of these other young men. The service was held at his Sharon Center elementary/ junior high school in Sharon CT with over 500 people attending.

There was coverage of the gathering in The Lakeville Journal of CT and even in the Hartford Courant, since David Paton, Kaelan's father was almost a member of the Olympic C-2  Team (Closed Canoe with two boaters on a slalom course going through gates, including some upriver ones) and a longtime boater in the area. Kaelan had been learning kayaking and was doing rather well.

He was a vegetarian and dedicated athletic person, particularly enjoying soccer, snowboarding. His strength, courage and skill as a swimmer (even without formal lessons and unfortunately without water rescue training which he had said he would take) helped him 'do the impossible' and buy his friend time to be rescued. 

I heard a talk by our former Sharon Congregational minister Terry Ryan who spoke at the Falls Village Congregational Church (which is online.) He shared the notion that 'angels may come to us' as they did in Biblical stories or through help from others whether in mysterious or direct ways. He shared two tales, one of getting guidance from an old woman saying to him out of the blue and in timely way,

"You are from Montana" to him when he had the big question of taking on a ministry there to decide with his devoted wife.  When speaking with a friend from over the years about that, she said she knew about the book Many Masters, Many Lives and had given a copy to someone close to me who had shared it with me I told her. The possibility that there could be past life connections is something we both had come to mind when he shared that message.

The University of VA researches 25K cases to date with a lot of 'coincidences' giving more support to the notion. On this blog I consider a lot of What IF questions. The other tale Terry shared was far more harrowing and recent...and along with the whole service is on the church's website and is worth a listen. I'll share more another time but need to wrap this up for now. Peace, love, light and learning to all to hold one another in prayer to seek healing and helping in a timely manner.

There are lessons and stories for all of us to hold in our heart and help us find our path toward a shared understanding of each day and the kind of world and teamwork we want to have play our in our tomorrows.

Let's hope and trust the joys and greater love will outweigh the sorrows and hold onto the notion that a friend shared long ago and who also lost her husband to cancer in the about a year ago, that all of life is an act of faith. Let's keep the faith and hold one another up when the road. river, weather, or life is rough.