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Dear Ann Landers,
I hope you will make room for one more response to the letter about the father who didn't want his children to wear bicycle helmets because they would "look like sissies." I just attended the funeral of my son's best friend. He was 9 years old. This boy was riding his bike without a helmet and went through an intersection without stopping. He ran into the side of a car, was thrown backward, hit his head on a concrete and steel drainage hole and died instantly. The boy's parents and family are devastated. My son is devastated. His classmates and friends are devastated. The person who was driving the car is devastated. Children who wear helmets are not sissies. They are smart. But more important, they are alive. My son wears his helmet when he is on his bike and will start wearing one when he begins inline skating. By teaching his children to disregard the law about helmets, that father is also teaching them to break any law they think is stupid. That man had better wake up and smell the coffee, or he will be attending a funeral -- and it will be a funeral he will never forget. Believe me, today was the most emotionally draining day of my entire life. -- Still Grieving in Louisville, Ky.

Dear Louisville,
I'm sure your letter will move millions of readers, as it moved me. It's a chilling reminder that the simple act of putting on a helmet can make the difference between life and death.



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Dear Readers,
, whatever they needed I provided. What really hurt my son and I the most was the obituary - we were not mentioned at all. Our friends (mine and hers) were appalled. I was embarrassed and upset for not just me, but for my son-who loved her also. I never been so upset. Her x-husband put his wife and kids and their grandchildren in the obituary, who my girlfriend barely knew. They live an hour away from us. I know its silly to be mad over a little section of the newspaper, but it still hurts. Will time let this devastating loss of her and this article ever go away? I am so angry at this whole situation, its not like we can go and rewrite an obituary notice.

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"Keep in mind that the true measure of an individual is how he treats a person who can do him absolutely no good."
-Ann Landers