Your report “2 drown in Skokie Lagoon during family boat outing” (Metro, Aug. 27) was too bitter and heartbreaking for words.
Perhaps it was your inclusion of the passer-by’s description of one of the victim’s frantic cries for help.
I wasn’t there.
I didn’t witness the scene.
But I cannot help wishing that the Samaritan had made an attempt at saving her first before running to Tower Road to dial 911.
Wasn’t there a branch, something?
Couldn’t he swim?
I have lived through passers-by failing to help me in a life-threatening situation. I have never forgotten it. I think we’re called upon to do things out of the ordinary.
When I was presented with the awesome reality of someone else’s danger, I reacted without hesitation. I did; I saved a man’s life.
For the too-young drowning victims in Winnetka, there is nothing now but the gruesome reportage, wreaths and the family’s pain.
