On the Front Lines

Living on the front lines means dying on the front lines. Everyone who is alive lives on some kind of a front line somewhere. Thoreau said "most men lead lives of quiet desperation." Quiet desperation is a front line, as is a battle field, as is an operating room, a pulpit, or a receptionist's desk. Each of us has our own front line, no matter how hard we try to avoid the rawness of life, it is there, either in quiet desperation or in living, bloody color.

Tuesday afternoon, Frankye's son, Todd Windsor White was killed in a car accident not 10 miles from his home. He had just left his home, his wife recovering from surgery, and he on his way to a part-time job. He was killed when a vehicle went through a stop sign and collided with his SVU causing it to roll. He was ejected from the vehicle and died instantly. He was 42 years old. Father of 2, stepfather of 2, husband, son, brother, uncle, nephew, friend of many.

Todd was good looking and funny. He was an intense man who loved the things he loved with a passion. He loved his wife that way, and his family. He loved the woods, and bow hunting and fishing. The walls of his home are adorned with stuffed trophy kills, each one with a story he recounted with pride. He ate what he killed, and he cooked it well and shared it with others. He was a skilled craftsman and took pride in a job painstakingly done well. Our home has a ceramic tile floor carefully and beautifully installed by Todd.

Todd loved his church and the South Carolina community he had recently moved to. He had friends there, some old friends, many new friends. He had recently incorporated his new construction business and was looking forward to his brother-in-law, his new partner's, arrival from Massachussettes. He had plans for the future and had simultaneously made amends with his past. While opening new doors Todd had closed old doors. He made right old errors, bridged gaps too long gaping, and let those he loved know he loved them.

That was the front line Todd Windsor White lived and died on. He will be mourned, and loved and remembered by those who knew and loved him. We've gathered here in this small town of Pelzer, South Carolina, from different states, FL, VT, MD, NC, MA, and TX to his front line to remember him and let him touch our lives one more time.