Death was something that hadn't happened yet.
I was driving in my father's pickup truck
At some late hour, the hour of broken luck.
It seeped up through the dashboard's oubliette,
Clear voice through the murk — the radio was set
Halfway between two stations and got stuck.
But the words sobbed through, and I was suddenly struck
Like a gut string in the key of flat regret.

The voice came from beyond the muddy river —
You know the one, the one that's cold as ice.
Even then, it traveled like a shiver
Through my tributary veins — but twice
As melancholy to me now, because
I'm older than Hank Williams ever was.Michigan area deals with water deaths

Michigan Sports

Nov 2, 2018

In this Oct. 13, 2018 photo, Autumn Roose looks at a book with her daughter Marley Cummins-Roose at the Woodmere Library in Traverse City, Mich. Roose spends time with her daughter at the library often, utilizing their programs and teaching her daughter about water safety. (Tessa Lightly/Traverse City Record-Eagle via AP)

BY BROOKE KANSIER
Traverse City
Record-Eagle
AP Member Exchange
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Marley Cummins-Roose’s bright blue eyes and good-natured grin echo her father’s.
The toddler will never see that herself — she was only six weeks old when her dad, North Cummins, drowned in West Grand Traverse Bay in June 2017.“She has his eyes, his facial features. She’s laughing all the time,” said Marley’s mother, Autumn Roose. “North was a very happy-go-lucky guy —