As a lifelong crime buff I've always been fascinated by death. What makes people kill another human being can be quite interesting depending on the circumstance. In other cases death can come unexpectedly and be just as fascinating as in the sinkhole death which occurred here in Florida last week.
It was another one of those being in the wrong place at the wrong time situations, although this place happened to be the home of Jeff Bush. His house is located in Seffner, Florida, just a few miles east of Tampa. Sinkholes occur regularly in Florida. The underground limestone can be, more or less, flushed away by moisture, and the earth opens up.Florida has many canals and obviously with the tropical weather, rain can be a contributing factor. Sinkholes rarely involve death as was the case with Jeff Bush. Jeff was living in this house with four other people including his brother Jeremy. Jeff had turned in for the night around 11pm. All of a sudden, the earth opened up and swallowed the entire room including Jeff who must have thought he was experiencing the most intense nightmare of his soon-to- be extinguished life. In a flash, Jeff was gone although Jeremy did hear him screaming. Jeremy jumped into the hole trying to help his brother, but to no avail-Jeff was gone in a very bizarre instant.
It must we quite weird to lose a relative in the next room especially when the ground opens up and swallows him. I cannot fathom what Jeremy must have been thinking...it couldn't have been .."Oh hell...it's a damn sinkhole". How far down did the sinkhole go that Jeremy couldn't hear or see his brother? Fire rescue people eventually had to call off the search as they could not find any sign of Jeff Bush.
One can only say that it was Jeff's time to go: God was calling him home. How else can you come to terms with a death like this. Minding your own business at home, and the ground gives way and swallows you up like quicksand. Speaking of quicksand, I wonder if that stuff really exists. I grew up watching countless movies where people got caught in quicksand and were sucked in to their death. Where does this exist, if anywhere? Well now, living in Florida, I can worry about being swallowed up by a sink hole. Talk about horrid memories being burned into your mind. It's obvious war and violence can do rotten things to your mind which is what post traumatic stress disorder is all about. Losing your brother to a sinkhole which swallows him up in the next room would be a lifelong nightmare to deal with.
I'll be interested to know what happens in the long run with this case. What is the long term consequence of such a sinkhole and the area where it occurs? Does the ground where it happens heal itself and come back together? It's expensive enough to get insurance on your home in Florida due to hurricanes and all the wind and water damage that comes with it, but how many people have sinkhole insurance? I'm not even sure what one would say in a eulogy when speaking of a person who dies in a sinkhole: I'm assuming it will have to be along the lines of God calling Jeff Bush back home.
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