Rest in Peace, Luc Bourdon

For those of you who are hockey fans out there, you probably have heard about the passing of Vancouver Canucks Luc Bourdon. For those who haven't, Bourdon was a promising 21-year-old player for the Vancouver Canucks, who returned to his hometown in New Brunswick during the off season to be with his family and to do local community work, teaching children how to play hockey, and encouraging them to pursue their dreams. Last week, he was riding his newly bought motorcycle, but tragedy struck as his bike slammed head-first into a truck. Bourdon died instantly on the scene.

What really struck a chord inside of me in Bourdon's tragedy was the way those close to him were advising him NOT to purchase the motorcycle. His mother was begging her son not to buy the bike, and his teammate, the senior spokesperson and leader of the team, Trevor Linden, was also advising his younger teammate not to buy the motorcycle. But many of Bourdon's friends have the bike, and so Bourdon bought it right after he earned his license. It was not even three weeks between the time Bourdon got his license, and the time that he was killed tragically.

I want to say this with the utmost respect and condolence to Luc Bourdon. From all the accounts I can read, he was a fine young man who worked really hard to become an NHL player, and like many hockey players, was a classy guy who always found time to give back to his community. But this makes it that much more tragic, that a young man's life is cut short, just like that.

Proverbs 1:8 from the Bible reminds us that "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction, and do not forsake your mother's teaching." Bourdon's mom pleaded with him not to purchase the motorcycle; his teammate, Trevor Linden, who was like a father figure on the team, also advised him against it. I don't want to make light of a tragedy like this, and this is in no way a time to add salt to a wound... but I do hope that, our hearts will not shut us out from listening to the advices of those around us. No, they may not always be right, but if we do not even attempt to listen, to use their experience in life to help us analyze before making a decision, then do we become the "fools" that proverbs so frequently describe?

Rest in peace, Luc.