A tragic wake-up call

Going to bed Wednesday I was very frustrated with the Angels’ bullpen for blowing its second straight game against division rival Oakland. I wondered if my annual Angels rant to The Times would come early this year.

How very petty I feel now and what a dose of perspective we were all handed when we awoke Thursday morning.

Growing up an Angels fan, I have seen brutal sadness before, but something about this one is tougher to witness. Maybe it’s because of the Internet age and young athletes like Adenhart are routinely part of our living room. Or maybe it’s the bitter irony of the successful start of a fine young man, with his father in the stands, and his climb to becoming a major league ballplayer complete just hours before his death.

Regardless, our thoughts are with the families of all the victims in this tragedy and hopefully this serves as a lesson to potential drunk drivers. May Nick and his friends rest in peace.

Rick Van Kirk

Irvine

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The death of Nick Adenhart was both shocking and tragic and touched the hearts of so many. Perhaps now the Barkleys, Nixons and Randolphs of the world can learn from this horrific accident and think twice before they get behind the wheel. Hopefully they now realize how lucky they were that they did not injure or kill someone while driving under the influence.

Richard Whorton

Valley Village