K.O. called me mid-week, asking me if I could help him at his Anson jobsite on Friday.

The only thing on my immediate horizon is the S-10, so I told him I could.

I went up early Friday and strapped a load of cotton bales and took them to the compress. Then I returned to load another load and take them to the compress.

It was a flashback of sorts. K.O. has one of my forklifts from the old seasonal work leased, so it was a familiar setting.

When I left Friday evening, K.O. asked if I could return Saturday to do the same thing. I told him I could.

Saturday morning I woke about my usual time and tossed and turned for a couple of hours before getting up at five-thirty. I got up, took my time bathing, reading, getting dressed and gathering my things for the day. While I was in the back of the house, I thought I heard my cell phone, just before six-thirty.

As I came through the kitchen I gathered my license, credit cards, and cell phone. A quick glance told me I had indeed missed a call at six-twenty-nine.

As I backed out of the driveway, I returned the call to K.O.. He informed me that one of his drivers had called and told him one of the driver's daughters had been killed in a auto accident. We were into making emergency plans immediately.

The truck driver has been one of about six working at the Loop location, so the first matter of business was "how" to get the driver home quickly. The second matter was developing a plan to cover the driver who was leaving shift.

These men who work together, blending company lines, form relationships with each other of mutual respect, and admiration for their dedication and work ethic. This gruff group will never vocalize this relationship, but these guys will go to the nth degree to help or assist a co-worker.

And they did and they will.

While the driver who suffered the loss is one of K.O.'s drivers, I have taken him with me on our South Texas work. He is hard working and jovial. Always smiling. (I have joked that I should call him "Smiley").

K.O. had told the driver "put it in the wind". (A trucker's phrase for get it going). This driver had an almost three hour drive to get from his jobsite to his home. By the time K.O. and I were in my pickup, both of us were talking on our cell phones, working of different pieces of the solution.

My early start to the day quickly faded and K.O. and I began to make our way to the driver's home a half hour away from our location. We ended up following the driver into town and to his home. When he arrived there he just stopped in the middle of the road and killed the engine. There was a large group of family and friends already at his home. He walked to us and handed K.O. some paperwork, K.O. offered our condolences and I offered up a "I am so sorry", and the driver walked toward his house.

I got into the big Peterbilt truck and pulled it out of the already congested neighborhood. I took it to the jobsite in Anson.

My heart is hurting for man and his family. His daughter was one of four who lost their lives in an early morning Jones County accident. The daughter was the "baby" of the family, a bright and shining star in her daddy's eyes. She had been valedictorian of her graduating class. According to reports, she was a passenger in a vehicle only six miles from home when a vehicle meeting them drifted into their lane and hit them head on. The driver of the daughter's vehicle was 18, the other vehicle had two men from Abilene who also lost their lives.

Tragic.

I often wonder how closely I have toyed with death, not even being aware of the possibility.

Take nothing for granted.

Have a day.

FATHER, I lift up Leroy and his family as they mourn the death of his daughter. I ask your care and comfort as they deal with this hard loss. I pray for the family of the other victims as they deal with their loss. FATHER, we look for answers in tragedy, wanting explanations and finding none. FATHER, as hard as it is, we believe in YOU and YOUR plan. YOU are still good.