Neck or Nothing

What does that title mean? Anyone? Jump in up to your neck? Just wondering.

I'm not sure how much this has to do with Oswald, but I spent my day in traffic school today. One of the instructors told the story of his son's death in a traffic accident. His son was 11 years old and delivering papers on his bicycle. The year was 1991 when the Spokane Chronicle was delivered in the afternoons. A man going 25 mph in an alleyway hit his son, who came out from between two buildings, and drug him for several more feet before he was able to come to a stop. The boy died several days later. The speed limit for alleys in Spokane is 10 mph. Calculations after the accident showed that at only 5 mph slower, the man would have been able to stop in time. The reason I'm relaying this story here is because of what the instructor said about the man who killed his son: "You need to understand that this was not a bad man. He was just a man like you and me. Every day for years he had driven down that same alley on his way home from work. He probably went 25 mph every day, but this day, my son popped out in front of him." He didn't mention forgiving the man (it wasn't really relevant to the lesson at hand), but I was struck by what a perfect picture of forgiveness he had just described. While this man's negligence had stolen his precious boy's life, the instructor realized that he was capable of causing the same tragedy himself. I was reminded of the parable of the ungrateful servant, only this servant didn't grasp the neck of the man so indebted to him and threaten his life. He forgave him.

I was in traffic school for going 47 mph in a 35 mph zone, and suddenly, the gravity of that strikes me in a whole new way.