Would you have a few minutes and do me a favour, could you?
Take a few moments and either (1) write a short email or (2) tweet (or do both:) to:
- The Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker and
- The Attorney General of Massachusetts Ms Maura Healey
- to consider the request made by the parents of Pádraig Schaler in the open letter of 22 June 2015 to them, to establish an independent investigation into the accident on Route 6A in Brewster, MA, on 27 June 2013, that left their son and your friend Pádraig in a minimally conscious state. Here is the link to the letter: https://padraigschaler.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/ol-mass-150622.pdf
Here are their contact details:
- The Governor of Massachusetts Charlie Baker
- Twitter
- @MassGov
- @CharlieBakerMA
- Email
- Could not find an email address, just a form to fill in: http://www.mass.gov/governor/constituent-services/contact-governor-office/
- Twitter
- The Attorney General of Massachusetts Ms Maura Healey
- Twitter
- @MassAGO
@maura_healey
- @MassAGO
- Email
- ago@state.ma.us
- Twitter
Once you have done this, please take another moment and ask you families and friends to do the same – may be we can create a snowball effect right in the middle of the summer!
Look at it as an experiment:
- How many people will we get to send them a note? – 20? 30?
- How many countries will these emails/tweet come from? – 5? 10?
- … by next Saturday – the second anniversary of his accident.
I think the more of us write to them the more likely it is that they’ll take notice.
Let’s make it viral.
From a very different sphere: It’s amazing how everything slows down and the ‘important’ stuff retreats into nothingness when you close the door, sit beside Pádraig, hold his hand, talk a little or just sense a silent but very strong connection. No need to take a course in meditation or mindfulness. It’s all there. There is a huge energy in the room, not the kind of busy energy, but a kind of re-assuring, centre-ing one. It is hugely rewarding to spend that time with Pádraig. I hope he feels that too.
And all along, we keep building dreamboats: trips to Alaska (remember Alaska?) or just down to Tating (we discovered there are wheelchair you can push into the sea) or to Drumdarkin (in the middle of nowhere, literally).
Today’s German Music Tip
Fard, Reich und Schön. Don’t get turned off by the name of the singer… This is a really good German rapper song. Rapper are the new Neue Deutsche Welle, only that the background of most German rappers is not German.
What’s hot
Viral campaigns
What’s cold
Letters
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Wo kämen wir da hin, wenn das alle machen würden?
Hospi-Tales 
Déanta! Done! Erledigt (if this is right?)
It’s perfect, Colm! Thank you!
Erledigt! Liebe Grüße nach Hamburg.
Danke, Stefanie!
Done, best of luck with this! Found an interesting article on a similar story… http://www.sfbike.org/news/importance-thorough-police-investigations-traffic-crashes/
That is an absolutely brilliant article, Daire! Thank you for passing it on.
Hello again, we did a bit of ‘circulating’ and retweeting. It is a bit of a modern day phenomena, ‘going viral’. Social media can be so useful. We are sorry that with all you have to do, you find yourself having to put precious time and energy into reminding the American authorities of their responsibilities. We hope that you, Padraig and the family are encouraged by the support from family and friends ……. and even virtual strangers like ourselves. With every good wish, Mary and Robert.
Thank you, Mary and Robert. We only met once and it was of the strangest night one could ever experience when you and Robert, and Maria and myself were sitting at the back of this room… I would never have thought that we would be still in touch after so many months… And that you would provide us with so much hope, energy, love, and support.