Yesterday might have been April Fool’s, but there was hardly anything funny about the tragedies that came to light over the course of the weekend. From car crashes to child abuse, the newspapers had no short of depressing, traumatizing and otherwise horrific stories to share with the public.

Three separate traffic collisions claimed the lives of six people in one day. Portmore. Manchester. Falmouth. Every single one of them caused by careless mistakes, bad driving and misjudgements on the part of the driver. Seriously? We need to get our acts together.

A doctor came forward with stories of abused children, and I’m talking babies, here, not just pre-teens or teenagers. And they were all abused by family members, people they trusted. Pastors, fathers, babysitters. What is wrong with these people? Some of these children died from their injuries. The ones who survive will never get another chance at a normal childhood; children’s resilience can only go so far.

Another, albeit more controversial news story that broke over the weekend was the doctor who got arrested for performing an abortion on a 16 year old girl. Apparently she reported him after she developed complications. The story on the Jamaica Observer’s website is vague (deliberately so?), but public sentiment will turn the tide against the doctor because we the church continues to be staunchly pro-life. I feel it for this man, 74 years old and facing a criminal charge. Possibly his first. Unless he was the one who got the girl pregnant, I’m going to be firmly on his side.

Happier stories tomorrow, promise.

Pax.