Comments by Peter Kohler:  Some readers have expressed their appreciation for this poem; others have shared their opinion that they find it to be rather corny. None, however, have taken exception to the point of the thing, namely that drunk driving is a very serious problem.

Since the poem (and t'would seem it will be known henceforth on the Internet as "Death of an Innocent") was in circulation with various appendages and additions all during the past year, various folks have tried to discover who penned — or keyboarded — it. On one Web page the poem is attributed to someone named David Riddell. Several other authors have been suggested over time.

In fact, the poem is an unauthorized rewrite of a piece that originally appeared in a book called "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul," published in 1997. Attributed in the book to Jane Watkins, the poem's given title was "Somebody Should Have Taught Him."  You can see it in more or less its original form here.

Regardless, the petition request that is most often attached to the poem in emails has been disclaimed as having originated with the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization. "We are spending valuable time responding to the emails," MADD representative Jonathon Poe told us in October 2000, "which means we have less time to spend on helping drunk driving victims."

Interestingly, we've seen variations of this email petition that claim the collected results will be sent to: the president; the prime minister; "the media."  From beginning to end, nobody seems to want to take responsibility for this document. And so, what to do with it?  I have a suggestion. Why not delete it?

More information:

MADD Statement
Forwarding this petition does not help MADD accomplish its mission. Quite the opposite.