RIP James Kim

Over the last few days, I've been following a story about a missing San Francisco family in southern Oregon. As someone who drives in the snow a lot, and sometimes gets stuck in the woods while snowboarding, I just worried how long this family could possibly survive in the cold.

Some stories, for whatever reason, just stick with you. Maybe because I fear getting stuck in the snow. Maybe because the husband is Korean. Maybe because I felt like I would have done the same thing (left my family to go look for help). Maybe because the husband has a resemblance to Bruce Lee. But whatever the reason was, I was rooting for this family.

Yesterday, I happily learned that the mother / wife and 2 daughters were found safe and are in good condition. I figured this would be another "Hollywood" style happy ending, and that the father would be found soon after.

So all day yesterday, I kept an eye out on CNET.com and MSN.com headlines, just to see if there were any updates. Just now, when I got onto MSN.com, I noticed a new headline regarding this family. I clicked, excited to see a reunited family and read about how the husband survived.

Unfortunately, the father did not make it. I felt heartbroken and disappointed. Maybe I could have done something, driven 10 hours to Oregon and done... SOMETHING.

But what happened next was even more disappointing. I went onto some of the other websites for this family, where people were giving their condolences, and I'd say about 98% of the people were great. A lot of well wishers and people who were just like me, rooting for a happy ending, and feeling like maybe we didn't do enough. Unfortunately, the other 2% were some of the most offensive, adolescent, bottom-of-the-barrel type people... one poster who said "It was his fault. If the husband had just stayed in the vehicle, he would have survived with the rest of the family."

What the husband did was noble. Who knew if a rescue team would EVER come? What was the husband supposed to do? Wait there and watch his family die? He HAD to do something. I have the utmost respect for him. But this wasn't the worst post.

A couple pages later, there was a post that read, "This accident could have been prevented. My GMC Yukon would have made it. You guys can all laugh at my 13 MPG but I'd still be alive."

Pathetic. This post makes me sick. Anyone who has been to a ski resort would know that any car, truck or SUV can be accident prone. This family was driving an all-wheel-drive Saab. I'd take an AWD small-car over a 4WD SUV / truck anyday. I remember one afternoon at Mount Baker, a lady couldn't get her Jeep Grand Cherokee out of her snow covered parking space. She kept flooring the gas, spinning in place, and no matter how many people were helping her push, it didn't seem to matter. Then, someone noticed that only the back wheels were spinning and the back of the SUV said "4WD." So he said, "Hey, put this thing in four wheel drive!"

"I can't! I don't know how!"

You can have the greatest vehicle for snow, but you still have to know how to drive in snow.

To the Kim family, I'm sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with your family.