The following is written by Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow:

Early Monday morning, a Sumner resident who rides the Sounder train darted across Traffic Avenue at 5 am and was seriously injured when he was hit by a pickup truck.

It seems he was already at the train and remembered something he had forgotten. He was crossing mid-block, not at any of the crosswalks; it was dark and rainy; and he was wearing earbuds. The driver stopped and called 911, but the pedestrian is in the hospital.

Hearing about this, I was reminded that it is small choices that forever change lives in major, and sometimes tragic ways.

After this happened, I noticed several cars driving through Sumner in the early morning with no headlights on. Several other commuters walked right out in front of cars, buses, you name it, ignoring crossing lights.

My point?

We’ve all got to figure out how to pay a bit more attention to our surroundings, despite the late-winter blahs. And we’ve all got to get out of our own fog to help others know we’re coming, whether we’re walking or driving. Between yet more rainy, gray days and Friday being St. Patrick’s Day, let’s all think a little more about prioritizing our choices.

We’ve all heard of having the blues, but in Western Washington many of us tend to get the blahs. Too many rainy, gray days can take their toll on everybody. Let’s remind ourselves that there are worse things than missing a train, than being late to a meeting, than having to walk an extra 25 feet in the rain, than having to call an Uber because you had one too many drinks, than putting the phone down for ten minutes while driving.

While it all may seem important at the time, none of it is as important as keeping yourself, and those around you, safe.