Drew's Memorial Web Page

Stories

 

 

 

Lindsay's Dress

Drew used to get the lecture, "Don't be stupid" when he'd be dropped off somewhere by his mom. As Drew got older, the "stupid" part seemed a bit negative. He and his mom decided the better phrase would be "Be Smart". Lindsay, Drew's sister needed a black dress to wear at his viewing and funeral. Their Aunt Cyndy took Lindsay shopping for a new dress. Without knowing what phrase was had been used between Drew and his mom, we were amazed by the label of the dress that Lindsay and her aunt purchased ...
"Be Smart"

Mom's Poem

Drew's mom knew she wanted to do something special for his funeral, but was unsure exactly what. The day before the funeral she woke up and mentioned to me (Drew's dad) that she knew what she wanted. She was a little frantic because she wanted to have someone read a poem for her, but was unsure as to who the author was. I knew that Mr. Yeager, Drew's English teacher would know, so I left word to have him call me. Within an hour, Mr. Yeager returned my call. I mentioned that Drew's mom wanted to read a poem, but couldn't remember who the author was. I began to tell him that it was the poem recited in the movie "Four Funerals and a Wedding" (I transposed the title "Four Weddings and a Funeral") and before I could go any further, he stopped me and said "I know what your want". I began to tell him again, and again he stopped me and said "I know what you want". He proceeded to tell me that after hearing of Drew's accident, he began to go through some of his poems and had selected a few. Mr. Yeager knew which poem we wanted, and told me that the poem was sitting on his desk. It was one that he had selected the previous day. He sent a copy to us and it was read at Drew's funeral as a special reading from mother to son. You can read it under the Poems link titled "Song IX by W. H. Auden". Thanks Mr. Yeager.

Writing on the Wall

Rick was worried that he hadn't let Drew know that he loved him before he was gone. A couple of days after we lost Drew, Rick had a dream. In the dream, Drew appeared in Rick's room. On all of the walls was written ...
I know.

Freebird

Hey Drew. Just wanted to say Hi and to tell you how touched I was at the football game yesterday. It was amazing how stong your parents and sister are for everyone. Everyone was upset and crying for you. I started to cry when I heard them play your song, "Freebird." I still can remember the day you brought your song into my math class and we listened to it when we did our group work. Did you know that you were the only student I ever allowed to play a song other than my classical music. The only other time I ever heard that song again was when I was shooting pool in Georgia with my boyfriend and his cousin on June 18, 1999. It was the day that they had that memorial service for you on the football field at school. I was so upset that day because I wasn't going to be there because I was leaving for Georgia, but you had a way of making me feel like I was there when I heard your song. It was the weirdest thing in the world. .... Love always, Miss Caponigro.

Rock On

I was watching the news not long after Drew's accident. I thought it interesting that in a game with the St. Louis Cardinals, during J.D. Drew's first game in Philly after holding out from signing with the Phillies, J.D. Drew won the game with a home run. The news camera panned to the outfield after the home run, to show 2 teenage girls holding up a sheet, with a sign painted on it that read "Rock On Drew". We had been using that phrase to indicate our belief that Drew's memory lives on.

A Sign

Well, the cheerleaders just got back from camp and we did excellent!! We won many awards to bring back to school. But, I really wanted to tell u about something weird that happened. On the last night (camp was 3 nights, 4 days) we had to do a team game. What u did was make 2 lines facing each other, and one at a time, each person would walk down the line and receive a compliment from each team member. They always play music during this time so that you can really get into the game. Well, the song that they played was the one that the boys sang at Drew's funeral. After we heard that, we got in a circle and said a hail mary for him. Before I left I had asked Drew to send me a sign and right then I knew that was it. He was looking out for us the whole week at camp. We also wore ribbons on our shirts for him and also for good luck. That was a really awesome sign. ... love, Lexi

Lark

Those of you that know us, know that we have 2 Bernese Mountain Dogs.  Matt is the more outgoing male, and Lark is the more shy female.  The stairs leading upstairs to our bedrooms are fairly steep and Lark never goes up them on her own (I sometimes have to carry her up for her bath).  The morning of the day of Drew's accident, Lark ventured up the stairs, and was wandering around Lindsay's room which leads up to Drew's room.  She would normally come to find Mr. Rubel (me), but for some reason she seemed upset and was looking for something (or someone) else.  Over the next several days she would go to the bottom of the stairs wanting to go up.  We don't know what she wanted, but we think that she knew something was up, and was looking for Drew.

The Plaque

We got a catalog at the local trophy shop to check out the different types of plaques that were available.  We wanted to get a couple of plaques to hang in Paul VI and St. Lawrence Schools for the Scholarship Fund.  I had an idea of what I was looking for, but was only able to find one in the entire catalog that looked like what I wanted.  Next to this plaque was a sample plaque for a soccer team ... the "Drew Soccer Team".  At that point we knew we found the right one.

My Diet Coke

I was watching a Canadian band early in the afternoon during the Woodstock '99 weekend.  It was before any of the friends and family came over to watch with us (see the Drewoodstock pictures on the web).  An hour or so before, I had placed a Diet Coke in the freezer to get cold a little quicker hoping that I wouldn't forget to get it out before freezing, like I usually do.  Well, I forgot, but while the lead singer for the band was speaking to the crowd, he said something about not forgetting to get it out of in the freezer.  I'm not sure what he was talking about, but I think it was Drew reminding me about what I had forgotten.  I got the Diet Coke which was very cold and not frozen.

The Understanding

On his last birthday we were all sitting in play rehearsal. A lot of people went to see his grave, but I wasn't ready (because I had never been there before ... I didn't know how I was going to handle it).  It was pouring rain outside and my friend Kylie and I, for some reason, felt a need to go outside and stand in the school parking lot in the rain. We were talking about Drew, and I was saying that hopefully one day I could get the courage to go.   Well some kind of force kept us out in the freezing pouring rain, and all of a sudden we both looked to the sky, the rain stopped and it was a huge beautiful rainbow! It was as if he was saying that he understands why couldn't visit him right away, and that one day he knows that I'll be there.  He is really an angel.   Thanks, Sharon Radisch.

 

More to come ...



 

Questions may be sent to Frankie Rubel