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9/1 CROTON DROWNING VICTIM TO BE BURIED ON LONG ISLAND - CROTON-ON-HUDSON — Friends of Dr. Peter Engel were looking forward to rafting with him later this year. Instead, they will attend his funeral today on Long Island. While the 53-year-old psychiatrist has been criticized for what some have called foolhardy and arrogant behavior — taking to the flood-ravaged waters of the Croton River with four other men following Tropical Storm Irene — friends saw a different picture.
"This was a tragic accident," said a longtime friend, Gigi Ebert. "He was an expert rafter and very safety-conscious. He never would have put in (the river) if he believed it was beyond his capacity. People who don't understand extreme sports don't realize accidents can happen." READ THE REST HERE: http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011109010357
UPDATED: LINK IS INACTIVE; WAS ONLY GOOD FOR A FEW WEEKS.
Just when I was beginning to feel sorry for all this and grateful our own were not killed in the rescue attempts, I read a line like this from the article:
ReplyDelete"People who don't understand extreme sports don't realize accidents can happen."
Oh if only we poor fools who have enough sense not to go boating on a river after and actually during the remnants of a powerful storm would understand. What elitist cr*p.
He may have been a wonderful guy, I won't debate that, but to continue to justify his actions that day with such condescending statements helps no one.Now in typical big and local government fashion, those of us who understand not to go into the river on such events will be restricting from enjoying our own town's assets.
This is just human nature. When we are close to someone who has just died as a result of their own actions, it's a very rare thing to be able to say, "What he did was stupid!" We want to think the best of that person and try to find some logic, some kind of justification, some way to not minimize that person, especially in public. I'm sure that those who were close to Dr. Engel are privately wishing that he would not have taken that chance, and there are likely others who are thinking, "That's how he would have wanted to go." Either way, it's hard to grieve publicly, especially when others' lives were involved.
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point Cozy and it would have been far better to say he was a great guy and leave it at that than to add the rest. It goes against the grain of even the most compassionate person to be told they don't "understand" an act of consummate foolishness that could have cost the lives of everyone involved. I think it is nothing short of a miracle that we did not lose our volunteers or paid police officers. I'd like to feel good about that and not be told I don't "understand".
ReplyDeleteWhat John said. Seriously!
ReplyDeleteAnd to Cozy: While I agree that it's hard to find the 'right' thing to say at at time like this, the view that 'that's how he would have wanted to go' seems awfully selfish considering the emergency personnel who face peril when coming to the aid of these adrenaline junkies.
With that said, we'll close the commenting on this post, extend our sympathies to the family, and add an amen that our police and fire personnel were not killed. Here's hoping we will once again be able to enjoy the Croton Gorge, which has been closed by the county indefinitely.
ReplyDelete