Let's Lock the Door and Throw Away the Key

It's been two weeks since Angel pitcher Nick Adenhart and two friends were murdered by drunk driver Andrew Gallo, shown above with his attorney. The fourth passenger in Nick's car is still in intensive care and facing a life that will, at best, be dramatically altered.

You will note the verb I used. Murdered. Because that's what this was. A murder.

Of course, if you listen to Gallo's parents who are naturally biased, this was nothing but a horrible accident.

Hmm. If you look up the word "accident" on Dictionary.com, you'll see the same descriptive words showing up throughout the definitions.

Unexpected.

Without foresight.

Undesigned.

Unforeseen.

This was not an accident. Oh, sure, anybody can wind up in a car crash after a sip or twelve of MGD alters your driving and ability to react behind the wheel. But, when the warning signs have been there for years for all, especially your loving parents, to see, you move from random act to something a lot more sinister in a heartbeat. Usually the last heartbeat of an innocent bystander.

Listening to Mommy and Daddy Dearest wring their hands on ESPN about their son's new lot in life, I could connote it all to everything that is wrong in society today. He never meant to hurt anybody, Mommy says. People think my son is a monster and he's not, Daddy says. Boo hoo boo hoo.

This happened under your watch, folks, so your bad parenting has now created three untimely holes in the ground.

When somebody does something bad these days, it's never their fault. Always the other guy. Rationalization like this is now running rampant one more time. Daddy Dearest tells how his son was devastated by his folks' divorce. With logic like that and the divorce rate currently at 50 percent, I'm surprised there isn't a totalled car at every intersection in the country. Mommy Dearest reasons that her son was lonely. Everybody is at some time or another. Gee, when I'm feeling down, I aim for the chocolate, not the liquor cabinet and the car keys. Luckily, if justice has its merry way, little Andrew will be making lots of new friends, some equipped with shanks and/or broomsticks.

These two parental numbskulls watched their son cavort with other known alcoholics in their extended family and did nothing about it. They watched their son get thrown into a drunk tank more than once and did nothing about it. They are witness to their golden boy getting bounced from a Bible Tabernacle because he was verbally abusive. A church group that probably prides itself on tolerance couldn't take this kid one more day. Meanwhile, the parents raised him so well that he didn't even bother to stop or call 911 after he plowed into his victims. Hitting and running is the most reprehensible act of all. The other day, an actress friend of mine got automotively savaged by some rich drunken bitch who also sped off. Luckily, my friend got the license plate and this broad now faces a future of serious litigation. Amen. But, I digress...

Nowhere in the parents' comments have I heard the three words that need to be said.

"We fucked up."

Yep, Andrew was an accident waiting to happen. Excuse me, Andrew was a murder waiting to be executed. And now we watch as this plays out in the courts. The lawyer on Andrew's side will be forced to do his job and try to defend the kid. The broken home. The alcoholism around him. The lagging economy, because that is now the alibi deluxe for any crimes committed over the next few years. And, I'm sure somebody is bound to mention that, just perhaps, Nick Adenhart and his friends might not have been downing chocolate malteds themselves.

As far as I'm concerned, there's only one verdict. Because, at the end of the day, Andrew Gallo should be at the end of his day.

And, in another non-accident, his life was effectively murdered by his own unaccountable parents.

Dinner last night: The salad bar from Gelson's.

And tomorrow...greetings from NYC.