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Friday, December 23, 2011

CAUTIONARY TALE: THE JAMES AND KATI KIM STORY

The Kim family made headlines a few years ago after making a wrong turn near the Oregon coast which led to being stranded for almost 2 weeks.  James eventually made what must have been a gut-wrenching decision to leave the family to look for help.  Kati and the children were eventually rescued, and James body was later found.

Mister and I just watched a special about the case on Animal Planet (nightlife!).   Poor James.  The way he died was so tragic, but the thought that he likely spent his last moments feeling like he failed his family is unfathomable.

I in no way wish to second-guess the Kims' decision that led to getting lost or the ones they made after.  This could have happened to any of us, but we can learn from it.  Until a few years ago we lived in a very rural area near the Canadian border, then in a bigger city which was still hours from our hometown.We also made a lot of day trips to Spokane.  We've traveled through the woods a lot.  Even my husband's commute when we lived way up north offered plenty of places to wreck and land in really hard to find places.

We made a habit of always telling someone knowing when we were gonna be gone, where we were going and when we should be back.  Then we'd give them a quick call when we got home.  If you're lying in a ditch it would be nice to know that someone will soon wonder if you're lying in a ditch somewhere.  No one knew to start worrying about the Kims until James didn't show up at work on Monday.  I always thought our policy may be a little overly cautious, but now I think it's worth it.

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