As much as we like to think of our final days here on Earth as many years away, Death can swoop in at any moment with its scythe and cut everything short in the blink of an eye. This is exactly what happened to Colleen Lynch’s son. But she didn’t send him to the great beyond with kind words to honor his memory. Rather, she issued a stern warning she felt everyone needed to hear.
Colleen Lynch never imagined a moment where she’d have to write her own son’s obituary. It’s every parent’s nightmare to lose a child, and she was shattered when her 25-year-old son, Cody, passed away.
Facebook / Cody James Holland
Cody was one of those kids who was loved by everyone he met, and from an early age he dreamed of a career in law enforcement. When it came time for college, he attended Paul Smith’s College in New York to achieve his dream.
The New York Times
After graduating, Cody took the steps necessary to become a corrections officer. Once he achieved his goal, he moved to way upstate New York — practically on the Canadian border — to find work.
Alabama Department of Corrections
It was a small town called Ogdensburg, and it was the perfect place for a guy like Cody. He was used to an environment where everyone knew each other, and that was exactly what Ogdensburg offered.
He went upstate with his girlfriend Alexis Sawyer. She was madly in love with the man that people claimed “loved his middle finger and showing his butt to the world.” Marriage was certainly in their future.
Facebook / Cody James Holland
Law enforcement was far from Cody’s only interest. Anyone who spent even a brief time with him knew he had a full-fledged love of trucks, motorcycles, guns, and he frequently went on hunting and fishing ventures.
And, if that wasn’t American enough, he also “loved steak, chew, and beer, but not in that order.” He was the kind of guy who got his hands dirty often, and his enthusiasm for life was contagious.
Cody also had a a couple younger brothers who looked up to him. They saw their older sibling work hard and achieve his dream job, and they wanted to follow suit. Unfortunately, Cody’s career never fully blossomed.
Facebook / Cody James Holland
It was no secret that Cody loved to party. According to those in his close circle of friends, “Cody played hard and lived life like he wanted.” On the night of August 8, 2020, Cody played a little too hard for his own good.
Although Cody’s mother never actually confirmed exactly where her son was before his fatal accident, it’s easy to assume he was raging hard at a local party. Most weekends, where there was booze, there was Cody.
DreamWorks
After kicking back a little too much of the sauce, Cody drove home, a huge mistake. On top of his inebriation, he also failed to buckle his seat belt, and shortly after he paid the ultimate price.
He crashed his vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. This was something no one saw coming. Sure, Cody liked to indulge in a wild get together, but people always knew him to get home safely.
WSET
The events that unfolded that Saturday evening left a void in so many people’s lives, and less than a week later, everyone confronted the cold reality at the Frary Funeral Home in Ogdensburg. But, Colleen had something else planned.
Frary Funeral Home
Although she wasn’t a member of the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving, she felt the need to get the urgent word out to the community about drunk driving dangers. And, she would do it all through Cody’s obituary.
MADD
Of course, the obituary she wrote for her son was partly a celebration of his life, but she also gave blunt honesty about his irresponsibly. She added a couple sentences that caught everyone’s attention.
South Africa Today
Cody’s death notice read, “Cody James left us on August 8, 2020, as a result of injuries sustained from being a dumb a**. He drank, drove, and didn’t wear his seat belt! Don’t be a dumb a**!”
Facebook / Cody James Holland
That summed up Colleen’s feelings perfectly. It was a completely foolish thing for Cody to not only get behind the wheel after drinking, but to also refrain from buckling in. The obituary also included kind words, of course.
Facebook / Cody James Holland
It also stated Cody was a “tough guy with a big heart! Friend to most, hater to some. Cody loved his family, both biological and those he selected to be his family.” Cody’s aunt also offered Facebook users advice.
The Sun
She wrote, “Don’t drink and drive…CALL someone! It takes a village! Share this horrible example with your teenagers and young adults especially. If this changes even just one life, it’s worth it!”
Daily Mail
For a man whose favorite saying was, “You don’t tell me what to do, I do what I want!” he certainly paid the price. It’s tragic losses like this that have some groups interesting schemes to spread awareness.
Facebook / Cody James Holland
Recently in Belgium, five strangers were asked by their friends to meet at a designated place. Little did they know that they’d be walking into a room full of funeral mourners.
The five strangers — Kim, Mélanie, Grégory, Olivier, and Brice — had been told that they’d be joining up with their respective friends, but that was just a cover. There was a good reason why they all needed to meet each other, and it would leave them in tears.
Using a hidden camera, the five strangers were filmed arriving at a secret location. Each of them thought that their friends were waiting at this address. They were, but not for the reason they believed…
Upon arriving at their destination, each person was forced to confront a pretty awkward scene. They had no idea that they each shared a secret that had brought them together—and their discomfort was just beginning.
What was supposed to be a fun social outing turned into a unexpected funeral, complete with a casket. Each of the five people who arrived were quickly ushered into a row before they could even ask any questions.
At first, each new arrival was beyond baffled as they looked around the room made up of a strangers. However, it didn’t take too long for all of the pieces to come together in the worst possible way…
The officiant began to speak of the departed: “She had barely started her life on Earth. Death may be difficult to accept, but it’s a part of life after all. Let’s take a moment to reflect on this.” He asked some people in the crowd to come forward…
That was when Mélanie noticed something: someone she knew was among those who were approaching the front of the room. Was this a funeral for a family friend? Why hadn’t she heard about it until now?
The person she knew was, in fact, Mélanie’s own father. When he reached the podium, he began to speak, and it wasn’t long before Mélanie was in tears. She was completely floored by his words…
Her father was telling a story about the phone ringing late at night. He expected it to be his daughter, Mélanie, but instead of her voice on the other end, he got the call that every parent dreads: it was a police officer, and his little girl was gone.
Mélanie finally realized the awful truth: she had been invited to her own funeral, and all of these people were gathered to make her and her fellow attendees realize something about how they were living their lives…
Mélanie was moved to painful sobs at her father’s words. It was no different for any of the other strangers. They were all attended their own funerals, and they watched as their loved ones stood up to give touching speeches.
Each person who was tricked into attending their own mock funeral had one thing in common: they all dangerously sped while they were driving. Their families believed that if they didn’t intervene, they would eventually be planning their real funerals.
Brice fought back tears as his mother and his sister got up to speak about what losing him was like. “You fooled around on the road again and it was one time too many,” they said. It was almost more than Brice could take…
Brice managed to stay composed throughout this difficult speech. But he lost it completely when his mom looked straight at him and said: “Please listen to me. Slow down. Don’t leave me, son. I love you.”
The speeches weren’t over. Next, Kim’s family and friends spoke up about her dangerous speeding. “Kim, this time I can still ask you,” said her sister. “Please be careful while you are driving. I don’t want to lose you.”
A video that documented these shocking confrontations quickly went viral. Eventually it was revealed that it was the product of a Belgian ad agency tasked with the important job of educating the public of just how dangerous speeding really is.
The project’s slogan was fitting: “Went too fast, gone too soon.” Before long, it was reaching people not just in Belgium, but all over the world. It was a powerful message, and clearly it hit home for many people.
This video, originally released in 2014, is still racking up views to this day. Its message is a serious one that resonates with many people who fear for the lives of their loved ones.
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