Another casualty of drugs......

I talk a lot about aging here, but no matter how bad it gets, it always beats the alternative.

Today my husband lost a friend that he felt more like a father to than a friend.  Austin never had an easy life, he struggled for the things that so many of us take for granted.  In and out of prison, problems with drugs and alcohol, living with his grandmother who tried to keep him straight, it all ended today.

At 22 years of age, Austin Thomas died from a suspected drug overdose.

People, if you've got kids, take a minute today to talk to them, tell them about Austin so they understand that this doesn't just happen to other people, that it can, and does happen to people every day.  Remind them every day that as hard as you try, you can't escape whatever you think drugs will let you escape, you just put it off until the day or month or year that you come out of that haze, if you do, and then you have to deal with it fresh.

Austin was an adorable, intelligent, lovable young man, and for all his problems, he had a heart that I know was capable of immense love.  Those who knew him at all will miss his easygoing spirit, his laughter, his sarcasm and wit, his ability to come up with some comeback at the drop of a hat.  It's a tragedy for a life just really starting to end so sadly, and I think that he was just a baby really, but he'd lived more than most people his age for better or worse.

Rest in peace Austin, you will be missed and you were loved.