SAD DEATH SERVES AS A LIFE LESSON

Thank you for the Register's coverage of the David Horne story. The article
by Staff reporter Ron Colquitt ("Ex-girlfriend: Crack cocaine turned good
man bad," March 14) gave me a grasp of who David Horne was and who he
became after crack cocaine became a part of his life.

From all accounts and my own personal encounters, David was a kind, gentle
role model to a great deal of the youth in our community. He tirelessly
volunteered his time doing something he obviously loved doing -- coaching
the children of Mobile. Those children in turn loved and respected him.

Does the way he died lessen the impact he, as an individual, made in our
community? I think not. No, he was not the man he had previously been. Most
of us struggle to understand his spiral into a way of life controlled by
crack. It strikes home because each of us knows that this could be our child.

He was a person many of us wished our children would emulate when they
became adults. Now his life and death strikes fear in our hearts. Was there
really evil dwelling in David's heart waiting to make an appearance? I
truly doubt that. He seemed to be a young man who found his demons in a
substance called crack.

David Horne's life leaves one last lesson for our children. I hope we allow
him to teach it to them. No one is immune from the effects of drugs. Drugs
ruined this man's life, as they ruin anyone's life who risks using them. A
promising life has become a tragedy. His life, which seemed so good, will
in the end be remembered for the front page coverage and television
coverage of its senseless end.

Do not deny the goodness in David's life, but let us let his story teach
our children this lesson and let us hold our children close to us.

Melissa White, Mobile