6.26.15- Ashton’s Life Lessons
Kent Calhoun, Kerrville, TX (Kent was a mentor and second father to Ashton)
Ashton Hughes was my daughter’s inseparable boyfriend for 4 years, an Ingram HS grad with a wry smile; he was a quiet, humble young man liked or loved by all who knew him. He inspired his Life Lessons. Stephen King’s words “Get busy living or get busy dying,” echoed over and over. Ashton’s life was “get busy living,” even in his accidental death.
Lesson 1- Respect all life! Ashton was a Southern gentleman- he opened doors for ladies, addressed teachers and elders as “Yes Ma’am” or “Yes Sir;” he understood words “Please, thank you, you are welcome.” If one needed help, he pitched in without asking until tasks were done. Never once in 4 years, did I hear Ashton utter a curse word, not even playing golf, or hear him criticize anyone, even when I did so in his presence.
Lesson 2- Talk Hard! Talk to kids about real things that really matter! Ask: “Are you happy?” “What are your goals?” “Will you attend church with me?” “Is there anything I can do for you?” “Are you or your friends taking drugs- legal or illegal?” Internet laws allow legal sales of hallucinogenic drugs; sadly, Ashton took one once; it ended his life.
Talk Hard to young adults! Drug usage is “get busy dying.” Three shots exploded that rainy night: first, in a ceiling above him, second, into a wall behind him, both shots fired in horrific terror at demonic evils only he saw; the last, tragically, ended my future son-in-law’s life leaving terrible sorrow.
Lesson 3- “Get busy living!” Ashton a) accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, his soul now resides in Heaven, b) was a fulltime college student with excellent grades, c) was employed 30 hours week, d) loved his family, others and our entire family, e) wanted to donate a kidney to his aunt. Getting busy living embraces one’s life and lives of others.
Lesson 4- Save One Life! You can become an organ donor on a driver’s license renewal form with a checkmark. Ashton’s organs, worth $3.1 million, saved 9 lives immediately and perhaps over 100 others with skin grafts and bone marrow. Ashton was still getting busy living even in death; we do this by remembering his life lessons, not how he died.
Respect all life, talk hard, get busy living, and save one life. Please remember Ashton’s life lessons and teach them to your children. Psalm 127:3: Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.”America’s future requires knowing these life lessons.
All love comes from God; the choice of acceptance belongs only to you. For those who loved Ashton, those who he loved, this love is alive today inside us. The final lesson taught by a very special 20-year old man is simply this: the only word more meaningful, more powerful than life is love, for only it remains after any one life, is gone.
