08/24/2026
Last Thursday, a young man died on Hwy 371 just a few yards from our store's driveway. We've since learned that the semi driver's actions intentionally caused the motorcycle to crash, he then ran over the man with his truck and continued driving, later denying that he'd been involved in a crash. He was arrested and charged.
The seemingly malicious intent behind this continues to haunt me. It was sad enough that this young man died out there on the road, but knowing the actions the semi driver took makes it all the heavier.
And I know that those of you who witnessed this or responded to it are carrying it, too. It lingers in us, as it should in our spirits.
I also know that when we carry trauma alone, it has a way of making a home in us. When we share it together, it finds a place that it can be carried among us.
If you're telling yourself that this shouldn't bother you as much as it is, know that it's right to be bothered. Feel what you feel. Give yourself permission to be outraged, to not understand it, to be unsettled. To grieve the loss and to have your energy impacted by the violence involved.
It doesn't make you weak, it makes you beautifully human.
If you witnessed or responded to this incident, and it's lingering in your mind and spirit, if you're feeling you need some way to honor it, I want to invite you to join me on Thursday, Aug 27th outside my store for a quiet, peaceful healing/memorial ceremony.
We'll gather on the patio, I'll say a few words, we'll pray to the One Who Has Made All That Is, and we'll honor the young man's life and how this has impacted us. You do not have to talk or share, it's our presence together that matters.
Just show up at 6pm on Thursday Aug 27 at Wild Rose & Pine, the driveway across from the big yellow mailbox just a few yards south of where the incident happened.
