Last year at this time I was a secure, happy wife and mother. Today, I sit here wondering if I can get together the money to pay my utility bills before they shut off the electricity and gas. The grocer has been wonderful about credit. He knows I must feed Myself and the five-year-old twins.
Fourteen months ago, I received a phone call from a hospital across town. My husband was in critical condition. He had suffered a heart attack while driving home. By the time I reached the hospital, he was gone. I couldn't believe it. The man never had a sick day.
The ironic part of this story is that less than one month before he died, I asked him to buy some life insurance. He refused, saying the smart thing to do is to keep his money in a saving account where it will produce interest.
When he died, the bank gave me the $2,200 he had in his savings account. If he had bought the life insurance policy, I would have received $50,000. I loved my huaband dearly, but I can't help feeling resentful. After all, the children and I were HIS responsibility. He should have looked out for us. I hope you will print this letter. Maybe somebody will learn from it. - HIS WIDOW
DEAR WIDOW: Your husband made a mistake, which unfortunately you and the children are paying for. Put aside your resentment and accept the fact he was not inconsiderate. He was ignorant.
2009-02-15 DEAR ANN LANDERS:
I have read with interest several letters in your column from widows whose husband had very little life insurance, or in some cases, none at all. Some of those widows were bitter because their husband had not "planned ahead." But in my case, I was the guilty party.
Every time our agent suggested that Mel increase his insurance, I came out with that stupid remark, "we're insurance poor." The truth was that I, like so many other wives, thought my husband would live forever. Widowhood was something that happened to other women. Today, I'm that other woman.
Last week, while going through my husband's desk drawers I came across an insurance proposal for $40,000 of life insurance. It was dated five months before Mel died. It was a good plan and we could have afforded it. Our agent was trying to help and I knew it, but mel was in perfect health and I figured I could use the $21.57 a month toward a new color TV.
Today, I'm working in a steak restaurant trying to keep my family together. Believe me, it's tough. I hope you will print this letter for the benefit of all those wives out there who don't appreciate life insurance as much as widows do. Sign me - KICKING MYSELF INWINSTON-SALEM.
DEAR FRIEND: Twenty-twenty hindsight is easy, the family that looks ahead and makes provisions for the long shots is the one that sleeps better at night. I'm sorry your husband didn't override your veto. Good luck to you dear.
1999-02-19 2 Killed on Bridge
Ron Williams hurried over the side of the Buckman Bridge yesterday morning hoping to reach two people in a pickup truck that had just plunged 40 feet into the St. Johns river. But the murky water kept him from reaching the man and woman inside the 1996 Chevorlet pickup after they were forced off the bridge by a semitruck as it's driver was trying to avoid an accident.
Divers pulled the bodies of Thomas C. Honeywell, 42, and Shelly D. Sanborn, 29, both of Bell, from the river three hours later. "I was just hoping I could find the vechicle, williams said." "It's just too deep."
Police said James Brogden Jr. of Yulee pulled onto the north shoulder near the top of the bridge about 10:40 a.m. after an extension ladder fell from the back of his pickup truck. But within a few seconds, drivers started slowing down and slamming on brakes to miss the ladder.
Greg A. Hyatt, a 32-year-old trucker from Springfield, Ohio, was only a few hundred feet behind when he slammed on the brakes of his truck to avoid the cars stopping. From a center lane, Hyatt swered in front of the couple's pickup truck. The vehicle kept moving toward the guardrail when they collided, pinning the pickup truck against the rail causing it to tip on it's side. It skidded about 12 feet on the rail before falling in the river. "I skidded out of control and didn't have time to react," Hyatt said.
The Florida Highway Patrol said no charges are expected, but the accident remains under investigation. Williams, an off-duty Jacksonville Firefighter, said he didn't see the truck plunge over the side but stopped to help when other motorist pulled over.
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