August 6th 2008 - August 6th 2009

As I sit here waiting for the words to enter my brain for today's blog...one of the hardest I will ever have to write, I am overwhelmed with emotion...Saddness, grief, anger, none of which Amit would want me or any of us to feel and yet I cannot help it...To have lost a friend, for Deepika to have lost the love of her life, for Jevesh to lose his father, for Amit's family to suffer this loss, for our community to endure this tragedy...and not have some of these emotions...I wish I was a better person, alas, I am human.

Amit did not die from cancer, a bad diet, a fluke medical condition...Amit died because one man made a choice, a selfish choice, a choice that was NO accident...A man CHOSE to drink and drive, chose not to get a safe ride home, chose to talk on a cell phone while driving, chose to drive at excessive speed, chose to drive while over three times the legal limit, chose to drive the wrong way on the road...Drunk Driving is NEVER an accident...it is a choice...and as far as I am concerned, it is Murder. The fact that there are people who have committed quote unquote "victimless crimes" and been punished more severly than a man who made not one, but a seried of horrifically bad choices, is not just tragic, it is sickening and despicable. The man who murdered Amit was likely home with his children long before Jevesh ever came home to a house without his father!

When we lost Amit, our hearts absolutely broke...I do not only mean that metaphorically, I mean our hearts hurt...we felt the physical ache of a heart that was irreparably broken...our hearts hurt! Our souls Ached! Our minds screamed out in absolute agony...Praying every moment of every day that this whole tragedy was some terrible nightmare, that it wasn't real, that at any moment, Amit would come walking through that door to greet Deepika with a huge smile on his face, greeting her with a "helloo honey!" and a kiss...but he hasn't, he won't, he Never will...

I encourage each and every one of you to stand up and make the choice to have your voice heard, to say ENOUGH is ENOUGH! How many more loved ones have to die? How many more families and friends must live with how such a tragedy devastates their lives? WHEN do we as a community decide what is most important?

On August 6th, 2008, Amit fell victim to a preventable tragedy...every year THOUSANDS more join that group of victims, and TOO MANY times...Too Many Times! the perpetrators of these crimes are barely punished, if at all, while Deepika, other wives, husbands, fathers, mothers, and so on, are sentenced to life, life without parole, life without their loved ones, life filled with coping with that loss, that pain, that heartache, a life sentence without their loved ones by their side, a life without their friend, husband, father. On August 6th, 2008, it was Amit who fell victim...tomorrow, next month, next year, maybe even tonight, you or one of your loved ones could be next. DON'T WAIT to take action because you find yourself having one more personal reason to care about this matter... Do something NOW, please do not wait for someone else you care about to fall victim to another person's selfish choice.

One year....in one year we have experienced such pain, such sorrow, such utter and complete heartbreak....There are no words that can ever truly express the loss that such a tragedy brings to so many. Today, we want to celebrate the wonderful life of an amazing man who touched so many lives. To some he was the "Indian food guy," to others he was that smiling man who just made their day with a kind word and a smile and just by being nice, to others he was a friend, a brother, a cousin, an uncle, and to Deepika, he was her loving husband and best friend...and he would have been an adoring father to Jevesh...

We have been blessed to have had what little time we could with Amit and we pray that we will be blessed with a long life with Jevesh. Their souls bring joy to our hearts and we are better for having them in our lives. I know that I am surely a better person for having had the opportunity to call Amit my friend, and it is an honor, privilege, and blessing to have Deepika and Jevesh in my life. My heart both aches and is filled with joy and I hope you will join me in celebrating the lives of these wonderful people.

We will have a small memorial table set up at the Saturday Chico Farmer's Market. We will have a memory book where people can share their memories of Amit, well wishes for Deepika and Jevesh, or share pleasant thoughts and blessings. Please pass the word around.

Thank you all for your kind words, thoughts, prayers, and friendship to Deepika and Jevesh...you may never know how much it has meant to them.