Life is So Short

I went to go sign with my friend this morning and he showed me a copy of this article that he had printed out. He knew her, and her parents, and he is considering going to her funeral. So very tragic. None of us know how long we have on this earth. I'm reminded of this often, but especially today.

Miss Deaf Texas struck by train, killed
10:59 AM CST on Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Associated Press

AUSTIN – Tara Rose McAvoy, the reigning Miss Deaf Texas, died Monday afternoon after being struck by a train, officials said.
State pageant director Laura Loeb-Hill told The Associated Press via e-mail Monday night that McAvoy, 18, had been deaf since birth.
Also Online
Official site: Miss Deaf Texas
McAvoy, who won the state title in June, was to represent Texas at the Miss Deaf America pageant this summer in Palm Desert, Calif., according to Loeb-Hill.
Witness Carlos Burgos told Austin television station KTBC that the train was sounding its horn right up until the time the accident happened.
Authorities believe McAvoy was walking near some tracks when she was struck by a Union Pacific train.
McAvoy had represented Texas "with dignity and pride," Loeb-Hill said.
McAvoy graduated last year from the Texas School for the Deaf, attended Austin Community College and then started at Gallaudet University in January, but had returned to Texas, Loeb-Hill said.

Another sad story. I loved this game show when I was a kid. "No whammies, no whammies, STOP!"

'Press Your Luck' host, wife killed in plane crash
08:28 AM CST on Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Associated Press

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – A former TV game show host and his wife were killed Monday morning when their small plane crashed into Santa Monica Bay shortly after takeoff on a volunteer flight for a medical charity, authorities said.
Divers called off a search for a third person late Monday after authorities concluded only two people were on board.

AP Peter Tomarken
The bodies of Peter Tomarken, 63, host of the hit 1980s game show Press Your Luck, and his wife, Kathleen Abigail Tomarken, 41, were identified by the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
The plane was on its way to San Diego to ferry a medical patient to the UCLA Medical Center, said Doug Griffith, a spokesman for Angel Flight West, a nonprofit which provides free air transportation for needy patients.
Tomarken, the pilot, was a volunteer for the group. Authorities said the plane was registered to him.
The third person authorities initially believed was on board may have been the patient, said Coast Guard spokesman Tony Migliorini.
"We believe the third person was the person they were going to pick up," he said. "When they filed the flight plan, they said three persons were to be on board. That's why we had to presume they had three and did the search."
The plane apparently had engine trouble and was headed back to Santa Monica Airport, located about two miles inland, but went down in about 19 feet of water about a half-mile southwest of the Santa Monica pier, authorities said.
Luis Garr said he didn't hear the engine but heard the splash as the plane "kind of landed into the water."
"It's a big splash, a huge splash. ... Then it started going down," Garr said. "The wings were still floating so I was, 'Get out! Get out!' because the door was still available to get out and nobody came out. So the plane kept going down, down, down."
Tomarken's death was first reported by Entertainment Tonight.
Press Your Luck was known for contestants shouting the slogan "Big bucks! No whammies!"
Tomarken's agent, Fred Wostbrock, said his client's first game show was Hit Man!, which ran 13 weeks on NBC, followed by the four-year hit Press Your Luck on CBS. He also was on Bargain Hunters, Wipe-Out and Paranoia.
"He was always a fun guy to be around, and he just loved the genre of game shows," Wostbrock said.