This was such a beautiful girl! She was a friend, and she will be missed by everyone.
I got a phone call around 5 o’clock p.m. telling me “Stirling died today”. I could not believe it! She was only 16 years old, and it hit so close to home. You see these things on TV, but you never think it will happen to someone you know.
She was driving home from a party, drunk (stupid stupid stupid… and why did they let her leave!?) and she lost control going over this one bridge. She was speeding, and that street is really small and winds a lot. She flipped her car into the water and drowned. 1 o’clock Sunday Morning. Her mom wasn’t in town, so she had to be notified. Her older sister had to identify her body 12 hours later when they pulled it from the water.
My entire school was numb today. A lot of us went to visit the bridge that she went over. At first it was calm and serene, and we had some time to reflect. Then some of her other close friends came and they were hysterical. I had to leave. I just can’t believe she’s gone
Why do these things happen? Will it stop? Will people wake up now and see that they can’t handle being “adults” when they are just babies. This has to stop! They were drinking and doing Zanex and all kinds of crazy junk. Then they show up at the bridge, crying and feeling sorry for themselves. WAKE UP! This kind of thing has to stop! I know it happens often, and it may have happened to someone some of you may know, but I can’t lie, it’s so much different when it hits home. I can deny it’s happening, when I don’t have to see it. But I saw it today, and I’m so awake. I do not drink or do drugs or anything. But I do hold a lot of petty differences with people. I had to let those go today. Life is too short to let things get to you like that. It’s a shame it took the life of a beautiful 16 y/o girl that I knew to show me that.
Jenny*
P.S. I found it disturbing that the picture they show of her is her in a body bag being drug up a hill. My parents said “it’s necessary for the shock value. it will bring reality to people.” I had to disagree. Her death alone brought reality to me. That picture just brought me anger. On the news, they showed the live footage. Depressing. She was so beautiful!
I’m sorry for your loss… Will it stop? Not likely to stop soon, most young people have that feeling of immortality. We all make mistakes. We can only hope that most people will choose not to drink and drive or use drugs…
Sorry about your loss.
I lost many friends in high school, but there was one that was the worst ever.
After school one day my friend and her younger sister decided that they were going to go christams shopping.
We will never know why her car crossed the median and hit a Semi head on killing them both.
One woman behind them said she saw the brake lights flash and then the swerved across the grassy median into the semi.
They were the only children in their family.
I had just seen them the night before!
The newspaper was crude and wrong in the way the worded things and the pictures shown.
Yes, we knew the bodies were mush! And we could see that their school papers were all over the road! Yes, we knew it was days before Christmas and that their parents had lost both children in one shot!
But we also knew a few other things. Like a few minutes before they left the house my friend had gotten in a fight with her mother. And various other little personal tibits.
I think of Heather and Kelly every year.
When my brother was in high school we had one of his friends sister who was my baby sitter hit and killed with two of her friends by a drunk driver.
Three wonderfully stunning talented pretty girls inside and out.
I knew Julie better than the other girls. We all grew up together and like I said once she was old enough she babysat for my two older children.
How in the hell do you explain to a two and three year old that Woody isn’t comming over to play with them anymore and that the whole family packed up and left?
Julies younger sister had a baby girl not too long ago and named it after her.
Shortly after that their brother decided to get behind the wheel of his car drunk after an argument with his future wife (which never ended up happening).
He is now still alive but will never walk again, last I heard, and had to learn to talk again. He is not the same kid I used to tease when we were growing up.
I know your loss is great and if you need someone to rant to just drop me a line.
Sorry my post is so long, but thank you. It feels good letting that out and sharing.
I’m sure she ment beautiful personality/on the inside you fucking dumbshit! That was crass and ugly of YOU!
Lil… Im sorry for the pain you and her loved ones are going through. I won’t claim to know what that feels like, but i’m sorry non the less…
Moderator’s Shotgun Loaded: Whammo, why are you making posts in my forum like “you fucking dumbshit”? Did I not warn you against behavior like this just last week. As you probably know if you’ve read your e-mail, I’m recommending to the staff that you go sit in the corner for a one month period. At that time we’ll decide if we wish to restore your posting privileges.
And you, Badtz, that was rather tasteless. Please use better judgement.
The rest of you who wish to argue and call names may just shut up. This ain’t the place.
UncleBeer, I think Badtz was making a valid point as the OP gives so much weight to the fact that she was so beautiful. Ok, she was so beautiful, … does that make the loss any larger? If she were ugly would it be any lesser?
I realise one should exercise discretion in choosing when and how to say things but the underlying point is not invalid.
Yes, loss of life is always sad. To me, it is sadder when the person who dies was the victim of others either through malice or through negligence. When someone is the victim of their own actions I see a certain justice. Life is a game of consequences. This woman could have killed others. I, for one, am quite glad it is not others who are dead. But, of course, I am not happy anyone is dead, beautiful or not.
It is always such a loss when someone is killed in such a tragic manner, even more so if that person is still a child. People need to understand that drunk driving is just as bad (if not worse) than it is made out to be. My aunt Chris was killed by a drunk driver when I was younger. A kind, loving, and beautiful woman just getting ready to start a family of her own.
In such a situation I can only offer my condolences, and tell you that it will get better in the future.
Beautiful can have many different meanings, not just a pleasant exterior. When someone is described as beautiful to me, usually I take it as having a much deeper meaning that being attractive.
If you lived in the L.A. area in 1987, you may actually remember this:
Jamaal was a kid who was in my 6th grade class. He was very popular at school, and was dating this popular white girl (he’s black) on the cross country team (I mention this point only to show his widespread acceptance in a very heavily white school).
Coming back from a basketball game, the bus hit a traffic jam. When they saw the car, he had to be restrained on the bus. A drunk had gone the wrong way on the freeway in a van. He killed Jamaal’s girlfriend, little brother, grandfather, and mother, who taught at the cross-town high school.
The entire school almost shut down for a day. Even my strict English teacher told people that he was going to actually teach, but if kids felt they needed to get out, they could leave.
The next time you hear of anyone trying to drive when you’re concerned that they shouldn’t be, remember these stories. They shouldn’t be driving, and that goes for being too sleepy. My dad is narcoleptic (sp?), and I’ve finally convinced him to pull over and sleep when he’s too tired. Thank God his two wrecks from sleeping haven’t done much actual physical damage to him or anyone else.
is that almost EVERYONE has a personal story about a friend or relative who was a victim.
I don’t, yet, but I’m relatively young, and I’m almost sure at one point I will. I have an former co-worker who plans to start her own business which I think is a fabulous idea and I wanted to spread the word. She’s building little breathalyzers, a little smaller than the triva games you see at bars. A person would walk up to this machine, pop in a quarter, breathe into it, and get a readout. This would help raise awareness of exactly how intoxicated you are. Not a silver bullet, but I think it’s a fine idea. It may just keep the honest ones honest, but anything that raises awareness is a good step.
I have to say, since some people were unable to understand what I meant by beautiful. Stirling was WONDERFUL person. I wasn’t down with a lot of the things she ended up getting herself into, but she was smart and always happy. That’s what made her beautiful. Beauty on the outside means nothing to me. (My name, is just a name my uncle gave me when I was a baby. It has just stuck with me)
Sailor: You are right, her actions were wrong. And thankfully no one else was hurt. It shakes me up as well, because my best friend drove over that same bride about 10 minutes after “crashing noises were heard that morning”. I think… “what if Vanessa was just a lil earlier, and Stirling would have hit her?” But either way, I am saddened by the loss. I think of it as gaining an angel.
Badtz Maru: I apologize for you taking what I said out of context. That is not what I meant. In any way. I cannot classify someone as ugly or pretty. Those lines don’t really exist when you think about it. Besides that matters not. The one thing I do know, is I will miss her smile. Not because it was “gorgeous”, but because it was always there.
Thank you all however for your loving words. I was honestly shocked, because it was major reality. I live in a tiny town where these types of events don’t really happen too often.
I will be working alongside others to strengthen our S.A.D.D. Program (Students against drunk driving). It’s a shame that a death of someone had to kick us into gear. But at least now, maybe we can stop this from happening so often.