Bottles of Wine.
After the death of her daughter, Candy went down a destructive path. She began to drink a bottle of wine each day and even though she had quit smoking two months earlier, she started smoking again. Friends from all over came to comfort Candy and there was many people there to support and help her. However, all she wanted was her daughter to be back and alive.
Candy and Steve decided neither of them were enough financially stable to have an expensive funeral. However, Candy did want Cari to look beautiful in her casket. Because, Cari was a crime-case her body had to run many tests and the doctor taking care of her body said they might have to have a close casket ffor the funeral because her body was too mangled and it would be hard for the family to view Cari for the last time like that. Candy fought and fought because she wanted her little girl to be seen one last time by the community. Cari's best friend went out and bought the most perfect pink trimmed dress with flowers knowing that Cari would have loved it. Cari was going to look gorgeous with or without the open casket. However, Candy still pushed and wanted them to do whatever they could to go through with the open casket. Although, Steve kept proclaiming he did not have the money to support an expensive funeral as soon as him and Candy went to pick out a casket, they fell in love with the most beautiful casket. It was all white and they knew the second they saw it that it would be the perfect casket for Cari. When the doctor told Candy to come in and view Cari in her casket she was unsure whether or not it would be open. Deep down she believe it would be, but she asked her friend to go ahead and view the casket first. When they got the room and saw the casket Candy ran in front of her friend and realized the casket was open,. They saw how Cari looked perfect in her dress and white casket, and Candy saw that everything worked out in the end.
On the day of the funeral the whole community was gathered together and although it seemed like a depressing day Candy smiled while she greeted the guests. Of course she was sad, but she wanted to stay strong. Steve, herself, Travis, and Serena greeted their friends and family and welcomed them. Everyone paid their respects and made Candy feel supported and a true part of the community. A young boy, a friend of Cari, went up to Candy and gave her an envelope offering to pay for the funeral. Candy smiled, thanked him, but could not take the money. She learned later that the money was from all the children at the Catholic school. They had done whatever they could to raise money for the Lightners. As the days passed, Candy's friends were a very important part of her life and her support system. However, she was still upset and grieving. She was not sure the outcome of Clarence and how he felt about killing her daughter. He never apologized to the family for taking the life of Cari, however his wife apologized. Candy thought it was weird that Clarence would not pay his respects but realized it was on him. She could grieve for him and pray but he would have to deal with it on his own time, if that time came. The night she found out that Clarence was serving only two years in jail she was furious, she was going to dinner with her friends, Frank Walker, Leslie Bunny, and her sister, Cathy Cockman. They went to Chuck’s Steakhouse and before eating they sat at the bar and waited. Candy was still distraught and asked many times what she was going to do, and how she was going to deal with the pain. Deciding that she wanted to make a difference, Candy said that she was going to make people aware of what was going on in the world by starting an organization. Her frie
nd Leslie who was always by her side said, “And your going to call it MADD, Mothers against drunk driving” (Lightner 9). The organization began as mothers against drivers but changed in 1984 to mothers against drunk driving.
Through MADD, the organization that Candy created, she was able to find a way to deal with her anger and the serious problems that took her daughter away from her. Candy had many goals for the group and one of which was to as she put it eliminate “‘the only socially accepted form of homicide’” and to put an end to the many deaths each year due to traffic deaths dealing with impaired drivers.
After the death of her daughter, Candy went down a destructive path. She began to drink a bottle of wine each day and even though she had quit smoking two months earlier, she started smoking again. Friends from all over came to comfort Candy and there was many people there to support and help her. However, all she wanted was her daughter to be back and alive.Candy and Steve decided neither of them were enough financially stable to have an expensive funeral. However, Candy did want Cari to look beautiful in her casket. Because, Cari was a crime-case her body had to run many tests and the doctor taking care of her body said they might have to have a close casket ffor the funeral because her body was too mangled and it would be hard for the family to view Cari for the last time like that. Candy fought and fought because she wanted her little girl to be seen one last time by the community. Cari's best friend went out and bought the most perfect pink trimmed dress with flowers knowing that Cari would have loved it. Cari was going to look gorgeous with or without the open casket. However, Candy still pushed and wanted them to do whatever they could to go through with the open casket. Although, Steve kept proclaiming he did not have the money to support an expensive funeral as soon as him and Candy went to pick out a casket, they fell in love with the most beautiful casket. It was all white and they knew the second they saw it that it would be the perfect casket for Cari. When the doctor told Candy to come in and view Cari in her casket she was unsure whether or not it would be open. Deep down she believe it would be, but she asked her friend to go ahead and view the casket first. When they got the room and saw the casket Candy ran in front of her friend and realized the casket was open,. They saw how Cari looked perfect in her dress and white casket, and Candy saw that everything worked out in the end.
On the day of the funeral the whole community was gathered together and although it seemed like a depressing day Candy smiled while she greeted the guests. Of course she was sad, but she wanted to stay strong. Steve, herself, Travis, and Serena greeted their friends and family and welcomed them. Everyone paid their respects and made Candy feel supported and a true part of the community. A young boy, a friend of Cari, went up to Candy and gave her an envelope offering to pay for the funeral. Candy smiled, thanked him, but could not take the money. She learned later that the money was from all the children at the Catholic school. They had done whatever they could to raise money for the Lightners. As the days passed, Candy's friends were a very important part of her life and her support system. However, she was still upset and grieving. She was not sure the outcome of Clarence and how he felt about killing her daughter. He never apologized to the family for taking the life of Cari, however his wife apologized. Candy thought it was weird that Clarence would not pay his respects but realized it was on him. She could grieve for him and pray but he would have to deal with it on his own time, if that time came. The night she found out that Clarence was serving only two years in jail she was furious, she was going to dinner with her friends, Frank Walker, Leslie Bunny, and her sister, Cathy Cockman. They went to Chuck’s Steakhouse and before eating they sat at the bar and waited. Candy was still distraught and asked many times what she was going to do, and how she was going to deal with the pain. Deciding that she wanted to make a difference, Candy said that she was going to make people aware of what was going on in the world by starting an organization. Her frie
nd Leslie who was always by her side said, “And your going to call it MADD, Mothers against drunk driving” (Lightner 9). The organization began as mothers against drivers but changed in 1984 to mothers against drunk driving.Through MADD, the organization that Candy created, she was able to find a way to deal with her anger and the serious problems that took her daughter away from her. Candy had many goals for the group and one of which was to as she put it eliminate “‘the only socially accepted form of homicide’” and to put an end to the many deaths each year due to traffic deaths dealing with impaired drivers.
A picture of the resturant
where MADD started.
Also, another one of the main focuses of the organization was to
lobby for mandatory sentencing for every person who is convicted of drunk driving and to give any counseling necessary for those victims. In the eight years that Candy Lightner headed MADD she was able to change her own personal tragedy into an education process for society.This is an example of what one of the
many signs MADD posted all around the
state looked like.
picture11:http://www.avenuevine.com/archives/doghouseBTLs-w.jpg
picture12:http://www.artfxsigns.com/htmlsite/images/restaurants/images/chu.jpg
picture13:http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/2/7/0/8/ar119724439780729.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment