Pine Island Tragedy

Today:
Distance: 4.2 km
Time: 22' 37"
Rate: 5' 22" per km
Weather: part sun/cloud, temp 25 degrees, humidity 40%, wind calm
Week: 21.45 km, Feb: 186.3 km,
Year: 624.95 km in 8 weeks at ave 78.1 km


Pine Is reserve was strangely quiet today following the death of a young teenager from drowning yesterday afternoon.
I hadn't heard about the incident until mid morning at work, I just missed the early radio news. After a mid morning nana nap and a coffee, I slowly jogged down to Pine Is reserve.
Only one or two cars about, very quiet, not even the birds were noisy. I went up to the top car park and back to the main beach area to find a bunch of flowers and a card had been laid beside the rocks near the water. It quickly bought home the impact of the tragedy even though I didn't know the young man. It's a place I go almost every day, I know every turn on the trails, where every rock and tree root is placed to trip you up.
But I don't go past waist deep in the river now, it has too much water flow, it's cold out in the middle and deep. Too many hidden rocks and logs out there for me to be safe. Sure I can swim, but not that good enough in the current.
Three young fellas were leaving the beach area as I went down there to stand in the water for a while. Later as I was leaving, a group of about 10 teenagers were very quietly making their way down to the beach, flowers in hand to pay their respects to some one they knew.
They sat on the sand together, remembering and probably not realising the impact it would have on them in the future. Life's not fair at times.