Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Abby and Matt Young

Update: The Park School, the high school that Matt attended, released an issue of their school newspaper The Postscript the other day that covers these events in great detail. Here's a link:
http://academics.parkschool.net/upper/postscript/special%20issue.pdf

Tomorrow morning I start heading down to Baltimore for the services on Saturday. I have no idea what to expect. A lot of people will be there, as well a lot of family. I'll be there from Thursday evening to Monday morning.

Abigail Young, Matthew Young

Matt, 16, remembered as 'a real standout'; 11-year-old Abby 'made you feel happy.'


Undated photo of Matthew and Abigail Young. (Picture courtesy of the Young family / December 11, 2007)


| Sun reporters

December 12, 2007

His teachers recalled Matthew Sam Young for his wry sense of humor, his ability to master the cello and cross-country running, but most of all for his intelligence and ability to write. Mary Abigail Young was known for making her own way as the youngest of four children, full of confidence and with a knack for making those around her happy.

Services for the brother and sister, whose lives were claimed by a fire at their Roland Park home, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Second Presbyterian Church, 4200 St. Paul St.

Matthew, who was 16, died Saturday at Sinai Hospital. Mary Abigail, who was 11, died Thursday, the day of the fire, at the same hospital. Their father, Stephen A. Young, a deputy copy desk chief at The Sun, was seriously injured as he attempted to rescue his children. He remained hospitalized in fair condition yesterday.

Matthew and Mary Abigail - known to all as Abby - were born in Baltimore and lived on Abell Avenue in Charles Village and in Guilford before moving to Ridgewood Road in Roland Park.

Matthew excelled academically, first at the Calvert School, where he graduated in 2006, and then at the Park School, where he was in the 10th grade.

"Matt was a real standout in everything he did - academics, athletics and drama. He was a nice kid, not in any way arrogant, and very humble," said Andy Martire, Calvert School headmaster. "When he won an eighth-grade writing contest, he gave a presentation to the board of trustees and donated the winnings to a fund at Calvert for a boy who had died in 2003."

Mike Shawen, who has been on the Calvert faculty for 27 years, taught Matthew history in sixth and eighth grade. "He was an exemplary student and one of the top two that I've ever taught," Mr. Shawen said. "He had an incredible maturity."

Matthew had studied the cello for 10 years and most recently was performing with the Greater Baltimore Youth Concert Strings.

"He had a real sense of musicality to him," said Andrew Shaud, his cello teacher. "One day, we were doing a jazzy piece, and he was one of the few who really understood it."

At a concert Sunday at the McManus Theatre at Calvert Hall College High School, about 150 students wore white ribbons in Matthew's memory. A bouquet of white roses was left on the chair where he would have played.

John Kessinger, a Park School history teacher who was Matthew's adviser, remembered Matthew for more than the straight A's. "He was nurturing of his classmates and worked well with the other kids. He was always understated and quiet, but because of his varying interests, he plugged into all the different groups at the school."

Since 2004, Matthew had attended Echo Hill Camp in Worton, and last summer had been selected to be a counselor-in-training. "His leadership skills were very mature and responsible, and he would have been a great counselor," said Peter P. Rice Jr., camp director.

Matthew also played lacrosse and, at the urging of his classmates, joined the school's cross-country team this fall. His coaches soon began discussing him as a "keeper in terms of attitude and approach" - recalling how he had ended a rain-soaked practice by diving into a puddle of mud and how his teammates followed.

"It was just a goofy, joy-filled celebration of being alive," said his cross-country coach, Paul Hulleberg.

For Abby, setting her own path at Calvert School was important.

"She was one of those students who'd come up to you, cock her head, give you a smile, and say 'Hi' - and it was most genuine. That sort of ability to disarm with her personality is something I'll always remember," said David W. Skeen Jr., middle school dean of students. "She always struck me as ... very much her own person."

This afternoon, when Calvert's girls basketball team meets Notre Dame Preparatory School, an empty chair courtside will be draped with Abby's uniform. The team will start four players.

"Abby was a very talented guard. She was fun and easy to coach, and was open and always willing to improve," said Roman A. Doss, the team's coach, who also teaches math and science.

Nicole H. Webster, who had been Abby's academic adviser at Calvert, would often slip her a piece of candy when she visited her office. "Abby loved candy, and I've been known to break a few rules," Ms. Webster said. "Her smile was more of a smirk. She knew something you didn't know, and the joke was on you."

Michelle Woods, who was Abby's second-grade teacher, recalled her as someone who "made you feel happy" to be around. "She was disorganized, but she didn't care. She had that charming smile, and when you asked her where her spelling homework was, she'd shrug her shoulders, and then we'd go through her desk and find it," Mrs. Woods said.

An uncle, Hank Young of Baltimore, said, "Abby was the hippest 11-year-old I ever knew. She could carry on conversations with older people or kids her age. It was pretty amazing."

He added that Matt and Abby were "very close and got along pretty well. They loved engaging in good-natured sniping." Last April, he said, they were baptized at Second Presbyterian.

In addition to their father and mother, Nancy Young, Matt and Abby are survived by two sisters, Laura Young of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Carrie Young of Roland Park; their paternal grandparents, retired federal Judge Joseph H. Young and Doris O. Young of Roland Park; and their maternal grandmother, Meilai Wong of San Francisco.

jacques.kelly@baltsun.com
fred.rasmussen@baltsun.com

Sun reporter Nick Madigan contributed to this article.

A fund to aid the Young family has been established by The Sun through M&T Bank. Contributions can be mailed to: Young Family Fund, c/o The Sun, Attn: Cashier's Office, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278-000

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Rest in Peace Abby and Matt

We all love you.



Boy, 16, dies after fire in Roland Park home

Quiet vigils follow deadly city fire

Korematsu v. United States

I'm trying to start a paper for my History and Literature tutorial on Japanese internment... more specifically on Korematsu v. United States.

I'll let you know how it goes. When I think about this case, I can't help but think of similarities between Korematsu and what's happening today, such as in Guantanamo Bay. Definitely an interesting topic to write about.

:sigh:

Thursday, December 06, 2007

What do you say to such tragedies? How does one react? What can I do to help? How did this happen?

Why?

Please get well, cousin. Please stay strong. I don't know what else to say.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-fire1206,0,508456.story?coll=bal_tab01_layout

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Reflections from Last Friday

Last Friday, approximately two hundred or more friends, relatives, and well-wishers of John Edwards stood vigil out of 20 Dewolfe to honor and remember the memory of John Blodgett Edwards, a sophomore at Harvard College. We heard from those close to John, and for a moment were lost in our thoughts to the song "Stairway to Heaven", one of John's favorites.

I lived with John last year, and it is surreal for me to think that I won't be able to see him again after seeing him every day and night for an entire school year. I can't imagine what his current roommates, who will now have to live with that emptiness, and his family, who lived with and raised and were raised with John, now feel.

It was said that night, that as many friends as John had, he personally struggled with his loneliness and high expectations. And I can see the truth in that statement. I can say that John would rather bottle his thoughts and feelings in rather than share the burden with his friends and roommates. He was that generous, nice guy who helped others, and neglected helping himself.

His death came suddenly, and most importantly to those who were closest to him, unexpectedly. I don't know if there were any signs that he was under any immediate danger, leading up to his suicide Thursday evening.[1] Of course, in retrospect, there were many signs.

Sometimes, I wonder if I had been a more compassionate roommate, I might have noticed John's inner struggle sooner and tried to help him more. Sometimes, I think about our small arguments and disagreements, and realize how trivial that all is compared to how much I enjoyed his company and miss it now that his company is unavailable to us forever.

I will have to think about these thoughts over the coming months and years, and personally I am more motivated to be extra compassionate and considerate and understanding to others. And yet, I know now that of the most important things that can be learned from this experience besides treasuring more the beauties of life, is that it is also important to recognize when you need the help of others, and important to reach out and get that help, no matter who, what, when, where or how.

Only we know ourselves the best in this regard. We can trust our friends and family to notice when things are amiss, but when there is something boiling inside, burning and churning and we choose to hide it from others for whatever reason, to spare them pain or acrimony, we do us, and them, a great disfavor.

The pain, and suffering, and lost potential of a life taken needlessly, or affected to the point that it no longer functions normally, hurts many more than we may realize. Ultimately, this incident will affect hundreds directly, and many more indirectly. I had no doubt that John would have made a great researcher, and that in fact, he already was a great researcher. Communities cannot afford it when pain and suffering take the place of life and happiness of any of its individual members, or any part of the group thereof.

John Edwards was a great friend, roommate, brother, son, grandson, student, researcher, and many other things to many people. He was generous, kind, incredibly intelligent, athletic, hard working, focused, and charitable. One of his goals was to run 26.2 miles and raise over $2,000 in the Harvard College Marathon Challenge for PBHA and Project Health. You can learn more about this challenge and donate directly to these organizations at http://www.firstgiving.com/jbedwards