Hello? Yes…karma? Oh….
….it’s for you….
The ABQjournal had a small story today about a young man, 18 actually, who suffered terrible burns over 60 to 80 percent of his body…from electrocution.
“Oh my gosh!” you might gasp at this news, “how terrible!”
Yes it is, it’s terrible. It’s a terrible accident to happen to such a young man.
How could this have happened?
Seems the young man hopped a 15-foot fence topped with concertina wire in northwest Santa Fe.
So that he could tag a PNM transformer.
You know? Electricity?
Took his metal can of spray paint up there.
“The jolt blew all the clothes off the young man” reports the article.
Thankfully the kid was airlifted to a hospital where it appears he’ll recover.
So? What is the cost of being hip? Of marking your territory? Or showing off for your friends?
Certainly not your own young life, right?
My thoughts go out to this kid. I hope as he lays there healing he has some time to think about things…about the trajectory of his life.
After something like this…you can go two ways….you learn from it, or you ignore it and keep doing whatcher doing. It’s all up to you………
Comments
Natalie
I wonder if this kid was in a gang. There’s been lots of gang graffitti/tagging going on in ABQ, Santa Fe, and Espanola. The worst of it was when the Petroglyphs were tagged.
My nice little neighborhood was recently tagged… all along the arroyo. Little bastards! It makes me so mad; almost as mad as that crap that happened at the Aquarium.
Ol’ Marty is supposedly really on the gung-ho over the gang take down. I hope he succeeds. If there’s one thing Marty is good at… it’s strong-arming.
I hope this kid, if he is in a gang, is ostracized from it AND gets a few lessons along the way.
It’s one thing to do art aka murals, etc… It’s something else completely when it’s gang tags.
Bah!
Karen Fayeth
I read about the tagging at the Petroglyphs. Made me furious. I was just there in October, hadn’t been out to the Petroglyphs since I was a kid and was in awe all over again. And to tag that sacred ground. Furious.
It’s sort of sad, but of course my *first* thought was that this kid was in a gang. I figured there was no other answer.
Gangs have been a problem in ABQ since I was in school back in the 80’s. I’m glad Marty is “getting tough” on them. It’s about 20 years too late. As long as New Mexico is a prime channel for drugs running through the border, there will be gangs. No two ways about it.
Thanks for your thoughts Natalie, you are spot on, as usual.
Natalie
Hey, check out KOB. Not only did this guy burn himself but he took down DMV for the day.
It’s kinda funny… but not.
http://kob.com/article/stories/S88008.shtml?cat=500
If the link doesn’t work… just go to KOBTV.com