A headline in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution reads "Teens mourn Cobb athlete killed in wreck." Not a Cobb "student." A Cobb "athlete." Well, being an athlete is more important than being a student, I guess. I love this paragraph from the AJC story:

"Griggers [the school Principal] called Reed a "nice kid -- just a regular kid who came to school and did what he was supposed to do, played sports and was part of the community."

Yup .. that's what you're supposed to do in school. Be a part of the community (who isn't?) and play sports.

Oh .. and yes. There were grief counselors at the school yesterday. Above all you have to teach these kids that the government is always there ... even to hug their necks and tell them everything is going to be OK.

I'm not as mean and uncompassionate as I sound here. But how many years have I --- and many other people --- been saying that you don't give car keys to a 16-year-old kid. These kids don't have the judgment to be driving with the rest of us. And let's not lose sight of the fact that this teenager was driving illegally. Is there a role for parental responsibility here? Some people learn this lesson the hard way, and that's very sad.