For a Friend

Andrea Will would have been 31 this year.


I'm not going to get into the details of what happened 12 years ago. I'm trying not to get into how awful our "justice" system is, or the myriad ways it has failed those left behind by acts of unspeakable violence. It's actually gotten to the point that I've become so disillusioned by the way our government works that when a person convicted of 1st degree murder only gets 24 years, then serves half of that, I'm not even remotely surprised. It's depressing, and it makes a horribly sad situation almost unbearable. I'm trying to not think of shit like that. Instead of focusing on things like that, I'm going to remember.

I knew Andrea from high school. I'm not going to try and re-write history here, saying that we were the best of friends and totally inseparable. It wasn't the case. In high school, I was friends with her cousin Dain. In the course of things, I came to know Andrea through Dain. We would hang out during lunch, sitting in the red plastic chairs outside of the gymnasium, making fun of random people and things. Believe it or not, in high school I had trouble with the opposite sex (stunning, I know). I found females to be a terrifying mystery, and attempting to interact with them became like some sort of test that Indiana Jones would have to go through to get to the Holy Grail. Except if Indy failed, he could just take the easy way out and die. If I failed in any way communicating with a girl, the consequences made decapitation seem like an easy option. The exception to this rule was Andrea. I never had a problem talking with her. She was funny, and had the exact right sense of humor to put me at ease without making things weird.

We had a few classes together, more so during our senior year. We used to sit next to each other in the back of the room during our Government class and make fun of Ed Cange hitting on all the teenage girls sitting in the front row. And at the awful videos he used to show so he wouldn't have to teach. I remember talking about this new band we both liked (Dave Matthews, duh), and finally got to see our senior year. I remember the shirt she got from the show (with the Crash album logo on the back). I remember how artistic she was. I remember how her and Steph were as tight as two cousins could be. I remember when she told me how Stephanie got punched in the face at the 311 show, when Steph told her parents she would be out "studying" that night at a friend's house. I remember telling Dain that Steph had been at said 311 show, and the look of sheer happiness on Dain's face that he finally had some dirt on her. I remember Andrea being mock pissed that I told Dain. I remember a lot of laughing. It's hard not to think of her without a smile, because she was just such a good person. Compared to most, I barely knew her, but even in that short time she left an impression on me. That's what good people do.

Tonight, a large group of people will gather in downtown Batavia, and across the United States for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Andrea. They will gather together and remember the good times, and the good things that they had with her. They will lend their support to a family that has had to deal with far too much already, and now 12 years later has to deal with this much more. They will stand together in solidarity for a person who, while no longer with us, obviously had a profound affect on many people's lives and is missed today. Unfortunately, I will spend this evening in a windowless building staring at a radar scope. My heart and my thoughts, however, will be in downtown Batavia with all those people.



Remembering Andrea.

Remembering a friend.