"FORMER" NFL PLAYER EVERETT

We can never pay

too much attention

to the Fragility of

the lives we live

or at least we

should not

Until late Sunday afternoon the  Buffalo Bills' Kevin Everett probably did not. Right now he is thinking  about nothing else. It's a sad story you and I can do nothing to change  but while it won't do Everett any good we can learn from it.

One completely random arbitrary  play Sunday afternoon Buffalo playing Denver no different than hundreds  or even thousands of other plays in Everett's college and pro career. Or  so it seemed until in an instant Everett's life was shattered forever.

Everett made a tackle as he had  so many times before. There was nothing especially unusual about it except  that it turned out that the exact position he was in and the player he  tackled and all the other players on the periphery of that play and the  exact manner in which that otherwise very typical play developed ALL combined hundreds even countless imperceivable factors resulted in a horrible  matrix of Tragedy for Kevin Everett.

After the play

Everett lay on the field motionless  after his body twitched convulsively. Unknown until later after he was  rushed to the hospital and spent four hours in surgery Everett had suffered  a severe spinal. column injury. An injury that the doctors involved are  unfortunately "confident" will leave him paralyzed for life very unlikely  to ever walk again or take care of himself let alone NEVER ever  play football again.

O to be an NFL player

the envy of millions

so blessed to play

football for a living

cheered on every

Sunday

Except that what happened to Kevin  Everett as has happened to other players before him is an ever present  Danger. We forget sitting in front of the television football is a VIOLENT Sport. In fact there is NO more violent Sport boxing included.

Over 100 times EVERY game players fling their bodies at each other with all their might. All  their protective gear is also body ARMOR that adds to their thrusts  and can -  most of all their helmets become lethal WEAPONS as it was to be for Kevin Everett in a helmet to helmet collision. Even  rugby which might seem more violent because of the lack of padding and  helmets is not because players conform their play to their appreciation  of their vulnerability.

NOT football players

In truth Kevin Everett could have  been walking down a flight of stairs and tripped. Been crossing a street  and hit. Even sitting in a chair and tipped over. We don't have the statistics  because they are not the point. But Sunday when Kevin Everett was being  paralyzed for life all over the world thousands upon thousands of other  humans of all ages were equally injured thousands died of accidents.

Their lives like Everett's

seemed under their control

more or less as it had been

right up to the very moment

with unexpected suddenness

it no longer was and never

would be again

COUNT your Blessings

and say a PRAYER

for Kevin Everett

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