Why Did They Die so Soon?

First it was my brother, Bobby, the boy who never met a stranger. Bobby was much like Daddy in that he always tried to make everybody laugh. Everybody liked Bobby. We grew up poor, but Bobby always had people buying him stuff because they liked him. He was just that sort of person. But, just like Daddy, Bobbys flaw was that he was an alcoholic. Bobby was incarcerated for not paying on his fines for DUI and also possession of marijuana. He had been trying to get his life together. He was enrolled in a program at a technical college where he was taking auto body repair. He said he felt different there at school–that he really applied himself and that others didnt even act like they cared. He finally had hope. But one trip back with his old friends in his old hometown was enough to get him back into one of his old patterns and he decided to get some marijuana. He was stopped by the police and found to be in possession. The day he went before the judge was a strange day–an almost mystical day. I was there with a letter from one of the directors of the school stating that he was enrolled in the program. But this was not enough for the Judge. When Bobbys...