Holidays are meant to be joyous occasions, marked by relaxation, reflection and reminiscing. Many family members living in distant cities will no doubt enjoy traveling to visit their relatives, show their children old home places, and just enjoy each other's company.

Unfortunately for many though, there will be some families who will, following this particular holiday season, remember it for tragedy.

Too many will cast care to the wind, and take their own, as well as other lives, into their own hands, by drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, and just as if placing a cartridge into a gun, get behind the wheel of a car.

The Alabama Department of Public Safety has predicted with a fair amount of accuracy, that there will be 11 fatalities on our highways during the New Year holiday period.

We should all vow to prove that number wrong, by taking any of several steps to make sure no one drives while drinking intoxicating beverages.

Ways to ensure that no one drives drunk include: giving a friend a ride, taking their keys from them, calling them a cab, or even giving them a couch to sleep on until they are safely sober.

We all have the same power to keep each other alive, if we will just use it. Stay safe, and may everyone have a very Happy New Year, filled with all their hopes and dreams.