Elvis Week, 2007

It is Elvis Week, 2007. The masses have assembled at Graceland to pay homage to the rock legend, and I am thinking about my dad.

Yesterday I learned that Mickey Mosher, the woman who killed my dad last summer, has taken a plea deal and will go to prison for 16 months as a convicted felon for promoting contraband in the Courthouse. (For those of you who don't know, she came to her hearing for the charges of killing my dad and Mr. Martin high on pot and had drug paraphernalia on her person.) I wish that this made things better for me, but somehow all it brings up are very sad feelings; I still miss my dad as much as ever. However, I am glad that she will forever be known as a convicted felon. The less opportunity she has to take to the road while under the influence, the more people will be kept safe. I wish that someone could turn back the clock to June 3, 2006 10:00 AM and change the course of events to keep my dad and the others safe; but no one can do that. All we can do is keep other families and motorists safe by keeping Mosher, and others like her off the road for as long as possible.

This brings me to a second point. The Martin-Mitchell bill currently being proposed in the Kentucky Legislature. This bill proposes a "zero tolerance" policy for those who would drive under the influence of alcohol and other regulated drugs. It is my hope that such a bill will be passed and that it will do what lawmakers would envision - make the prosecution of DUI's more consistent and give Commonwealth Attorneys more room to build their cases against people driving under the influence of marijuana and other drugs. What is most apparent to me, after observing the trial of Mickey Mosher for the DUI and murder charges she faced in April, is that the Commonwealth, and other states, needs a quantifiable scale for determining whether or not a person is under the influence of a drug. If that is what will be accomplished with the Martin-Mitchell bill, then I am all for it. Determining what is "under the influence" of controlled substances is vital to the prosecution of those who would use, then drive.

All of these issues are things that I think about often; probably more than I should. So this morning, in the car, I decided to switch to the radio to "Elvis Radio All the Time." It made me think about my dad. How much he liked to hear him sing, and how much fun he had over the years dressing up like "The King." The radio station played "How Great Thou Art..." it made me cry... then they played a song I'd never heard called "Just Pretend" and I absolutely boo hooed! But I don't think that's bad. I like enjoying the things my dad enjoyed. I like to remember all of the fun vibrant things about him. Is it always easy? No. It sometimes makes me very sad, but often I end up laughing or smiling through the tears. So, in honor of my dad, let's celebrate "Elvis Week 2007." Switch to the oldies station and and listen to that smooth, rich voice, and think about Brooks Mitchell and all the fun he helped us all to have.

Thank you, Thank you very much,
rmf