One summer when I was home from college, my friends and I did something fun and daring. We were out on a lake at midnight, pitch black, on a pontoon overloaded with partiers, and we dared one another to dive along the anchor line to the bottom of the lake, some 30 feet down. The first one to come up with a handful of mud was the winner. Looking back, I now realize what we thought was a harmless dare was a reckless risk. That memory resurfaced as I read MLive’s recent reports that at least a dozen people in Michigan have drowned in the past week. Yes, we all have experiences we look back on and think, “How did I make it to this age?” We all make spontaneous decisions that seem harmless. But I wish I had been aware of the dangers – and the agony it causes families – as I am now. The recent deaths spanned the state, from Lake Michigan to small waterways to a swimming pool. The Fourth of July weekend alone claimed 10 lives. In two instances, fathers entered the water to try to rescue their struggling sons, and both died. I’m guessing when the day started at the water, no one thought they were putting their life at risk. Misty Vaughn said her son, Tucker Vaughn, was an excellent swimmer. Yet the evening of June 28, he jumped off a bridge into the Galien River in New Buffalo and didn’t resurface. He may have hit his head or been pulled under by the current. “He was so caring, such a hard worker,” Vaughn said, fighting back tears in an interview with MLive reporter Brad Devereaux. “He had goals. His life was just cut too short, too soon. He was gonna do big things.” MLive editors feel two obligations when reporting on tragedies such as these: Illustrate the dangers of waterways, even those that seem benign, and to tell the stories of those whose lives are taken. "It's important to go beyond the initial breaking news, beyond the statistics," said Sara Scott, senior director of news. "These tragedies affect real people, real families, whose lives have been upended. They are stories of grief, but also of hope and potentially closure." Part of preventing these types of incidents is arming people with information on how to keep themselves safe. MLive has written several pieces in recent years, such as this article with nine tips on recognizing dangers in the water, and also created a documentary titled “The Deadliest Lake,” about Lake Michigan. Sometimes the two aims of MLive’s reporting come together, as with this story about parents of a young couple who drowned who used life insurance money to fund the purchase of lifesaving robot devices. The robots are small remote-control boats that can reach struggling swimmers and keep them afloat until help arrives. They can get to the person faster than a human lifeguard. This is an example of how tragedies sometimes lead to positive change, and MLive wants to tell those stories, too. "It's important we ensure these victims are not defined by just one incident," Scott said. "They had lives, families, community connections. We want to honor their stories and their legacies." I am a parent of young adults, and I shudder when I reread the beginning of this column. We can’t undo the past, but we can share knowledge, tell stories and maybe – just maybe – save a life. # # # | 