I knew what my next open topic would be the second I finished reading the novel. I wish it was as easy as me spitting out some historical facts like I did for last week’s topic but I know if I did that I wouldn’t be doing what in my heart I know I must do. I wish I could say that Linda’s story in The Things They Carried was just another sad story to me and that once it was out of sight it was out of mind but truthfully that isn’t the case.
Erin Elizabeth Crowley, a classmate and a close friend of mine, lost her battle with cancer in April of last year. She was eighteen years old, and she was incredible. My graduating class consisted of about 100 kids; everyone knew everyone, and everyone loved
Several of us visited
On our prom night we went to go see her before the dance and her parents said she was going to try to make an appearance at prom but it would depend how she felt. So we left and a few hours into the dance her parents rolled her in on her wheelchair, much to the delight of everyone present. All her classmates, who hadn’t seen her in several months, came by to say hi. That night she was named prom queen, and no one ever deserved that honor more than her.
Several weeks later, I pulled into the school parking lot and walked towards my girlfriend’s car as I always did to say good morning and walk in with her. About halfway between my car and hers she sent me a text message telling me that
I was much older than Tim O’Brien was when he lost Linda, but that doesn’t mean I understand why my friend had to die anymore than he did. But when I read what he wrote it really inspired me because it’s something I’ve always thought. “But in a story I can steal her soul. I can revive, at least briefly, that which is absolute and unchanging. In a story, miracles can happen” (236). There aren’t many things I know for sure in this life, in fact there’s almost nothing. But one thing I do know is that
Maybe this was too much; maybe this was more than any of you cared to read and maybe I’m too far off topic. But this was something I felt that I had to share, for better or for worse. She won’t let me keep it to myself; she always tried to boss me around in life, why stop now?
Here is a link to her website.
1 comment:
Brian, thanks for sharing this, and for including the link to Erin's website. I don't think this was at all off topic; in fact, it's very much in the spirit of O'Brien's work, and in keeping, too, maybe with what Kyle wrote about in his open topic (the need to express grief and the suitability of writing to the task).
My guess is, given that your friend wanted to be a writer herself, she would be doubly pleased that you would choose to honor her in your writing...
Thanks again for this...
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