July 28, 1990

Was the day I lost my cousin to drunk driving.

Today is a sad day, a day I will never forget, the morning I received the call I will never erase from my memory.

A call from my boyfriend George telling me that his best friend whom only 5 hours before dropped me off at my house and was dead.

Billy died on this date in the wee hours of the morning. He'd been clean of any narcotics for 3 months (and very proud of that) at the party met up with an old buddy Ozzy.....who of course couldn't do anything by himself.....he kept going on and on to Billy, come on do a hit, do it buddy, come on just this one more time....for old time sake.......

One more time was all that was needed. Billy was 17, graduating that next year, he was headed into grade 12 in September. He was going to trade school the next year...I think he was going to take electrical?

Come to find out Billy gave into Ozzy's plea's to indulge one last time in the drugs, little did we know it was alcohol too. He was messed up. We had no idea......but we knew Ozzy wasn't the best influence on anyone.

So Billy came over to George and I and said he wanted to leave, big pit party out in Dorn Ridge Pits.....I said "you know what, can you just drop me off at home I think its time for me to get out of here?", Billy said "sure hun".....George also was getting dropped off. If I wasn't going then neither was he. What a FAB choice he made that night.

After Billy & Ozzy (the sidekick) dropped us off away they went......almost to the party Billy lost control, hit the culvert (sp?) and he and his "newly souped up" blue camero flew through the air - many feet in the air. Billy had his seatbelt on and the camero caught fire, he burned up with his car.

Ozzy on the other hand flew out the window and walked away without a scratch.

The funeral was 3 days later. The song they played at the funeral was Slaughter - Fly to the Angels. I played that song for days and days after......apparently that song was playing when he died (I don't know that for a fact but I'd like to think it was true). Slaughter was his fav band that summer.....

Every year on this date I can't help but think about that night, how it might have been different had we not gone to the party, partied on our own like we did most of the time, never met up with Ozzy, what if George and I had gone to that damn party too?

On this day I am thinking about my friend and cousin Billy {RIP}. Sadly missed but never forgotten.

This is why you don't do drugs or drink and drive - ever - period - not even 1 drink. This is exactly why? You'll lose control, hit a culvert and die!