A little over a year ago a young man named Lyle P. Miller was at a party where alcohol was being served. He and another friend decided they wanted some McDonalds and hopped into his SUV to head over to the next town and grab some food. The next day the friend had little memory of the night before. Lyle, however, would never be able to speak of the night for a different reason. He spent the night at the morgue.

Tears were shed as the body of the young man was laid to rest in Northern Illinois a few days later. Memories were shared and cautions offered. It was hopped that this type of thing wouldn’t happen again.

I went past the cross by the side of the road this past week. There are some fresh flowers and his name is still clearly legible on the white painted boards. Across the road there is a new cross for another young man who passed away from another accident over the past year. Another young individual laid to rest and no doubt more of the same caution shared.

In 2006 there were 1254 traffic fatalities in Illinois. 540 cases are known alcohol related cases that resulted in a fatality. That number has decreased significantly since 1982 when over 1000 fatalities were from known alcohol related incidents. The fact is simply that these deaths are avoidable. The question is how do you make young individuals who drink have the responsibility to not drive.

I doubt I have the silver bullet that will cure this social ill but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to make an effort to try and stop even one of these individuals from making the same mistake.

I am proposing a program called “One Last Cross”. The programs concept is to erect a highly visible and highly moving monument in a community to create awareness and better choices by the individuals.

The “One Last Cross” program is a large white cross where individuals are asked to sign the cross as a pledge in memory of those who have passed away that they will not drink and drive or let anyone they know drink or drive. It is important that the cross be large and placed in a highly visible area to act as a reminder to their pledge.

Around the large signed cross smaller crosses are to be placed in memory of those who go on before creating a large reminder of the cost of the decision to drive while intoxicated. The area will be reminiscent of the Arlington National Cementary with the white crosses. The larger the area grows the more heavy the images importance will weigh on those who see it.

The name “One Last Cross” is in hopes that with the signing of the large white cross will be the only necessary cross to put up. I am only starting with this concept and will be happy to take feedback and input. I will probably start a blog as soon as I can find someone who is interested in being a co-author of the blog.

I appreciate you reading this and hope that you will take the time to challenge the individuals around you to take this seriously.