Steve Berrell

The twenty-first of December is rapidly approaching. Most people will be out in the bustling crowds that day. They will be finishing up or in some cases, starting their holiday shopping.

It will come and go without much fanfare and on the 22nd for everyone, another day to be forgotten. Not for me.

At 19:02 p.m. on December twenty-first, I will be outside looking at the sky, towards the North. I will be remembering Steven Berrell.

We were friends in high school, not best friends or even good friends, but we were friends. The way high school students are friends.

He had a certain gait when he walked, a sort of leaning to the left and then to the right. Steve was tall and lanky. He wasn't hard to miss, but the thing that struck me was that big goofy smile that seemed to be plastered on his face. Steve came from a pretty well off family, but you would never know. He was sincere, kind and never auspicious, although he did have a certain affection for button down shirts. 

 

He was also shy in some respects. Maybe it was because he was the younger brother of a larger than life older one. Rob was a year ahead of me and Steve a year behind. Like in most smaller mid west towns, families with multiple kids make up the high school. The classes become a mix of grades. You end up with one or the other in a class or two. 

 

He did like to crack a joke, especially with his buddy Eric Olafson. The two of them could get an entire class going in a matter of minutes, but he wasn't the class clown. This is the Steve I remember.

 

Others will remember him as brilliant young man and rightly so. Steve was one of those rare people that you just knew was going to be "someone".  He had that drive and ambition. The kind of drive that made him aspire for a double major at Syracuse University. To go to London to study abroad, even for just one semester.

I remember this date every year. I remember my mom calling to tell me the news. The horrible news. The horrible news that on a crisp beautiful December day, my high school friend Steven Russell Berrell, seat 46F, was blown out of the sky. He was dead, as well as 269 others.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of Pan Am flight 103. Considered the deadliest air terrorism event of its time, it is all but forgotten, just a page in history. There were 35 students on board, considered some of the brightest the United States had to offer.

 

We will never know what they would have become, what impact they would have had. Parents who spoke at the hearings thought their deaths would not be in vain. That changes in security would prevent another attack from ever happening again. People believed it was safe to fly. How wrong we were.

 

That day I simply lost a friend and with it my youth. The world lost much more.  

 

Reviews

[Kevin Vorshak]

Again, JC, another powerful piece. This is truly a wonderful beginning chapter. Oddly, or maybe not oddly, timed due to the release of the terrorist that planted the explosive. Of all things, due to having cancer and not having long to live. Why show this animal any compassion at all? He didn't show any compassion to the people of Pan Am Flight 103.

I'm off my soapbox. Stupendous writing, by the way. Tremendous build up of Steve's life and the type of person he is. We know something happens to him, but then comes the tie to Pan Am Flight 103. Gave me chills.

[Legion]

:( Can't say much more than that. Been in your shoes. Know the pain and the loss. Well written. A toast to them all.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

That is truly touching as you pay great respect to this man... so many people lost lost personal connections that day but as you also said the world lost so much more... I liked that even you weren't really close you gave great details of the man you knew to show the human side of this tragedy.

[W.k.kortas]

This is a sobering reminder that there are real people, with families and friends and thousands of shadows cast across scores of lives, behind the headlines.

I would note that 103 is not "all but forgotten"; there is a significant--and deeply touching--bond that has formed between the people of Lokcerbie and Syracuse University.

[Jason]

A rather sad peice, but very powerful none the less. The truth hurts, but the truth also carrys so much strength. I really like the knowledge I will take from this.

Jay

[Greg Close]

I lived in Ireland, a few miles from the border with The North, in the early eighties, and in the midst of what was referred to mostly as "The Troubles." Terrorism is such an awful thing in any form, and it's victims almost entirely completely innocent bystanders to whatever conflict motivates it. I saw so many of these casualties, little girls, mailmen, etc scooped up with all that they could ever represent and offer the world, and carried off in body bags to molder away. I understand mercy as a concept, and I believe in putting it in practice whenever we can. But I am saddened that this man, though dying himself, was shown any. Some crimes are so heinous, so callous, that mercy is misplaced because it shows none to the victims or the survivors who deserve it so much more. A moving, sad, and poignant piece. You did your friend, the other victims of Pan Am 103, and victims of terrorism at large, a justice that sadly the courts will never provide.

[Michael]

Very nice. I cannot say much more than all these others have already said.

[Sean M. Addams]

a really deep piece i liked this alot... nice job on this one.

[Lizanne]

A beautiful story and tribute to friendship. I wonder if everyone has a person from high school or college that touched and impressed them, but was lost at an early age to a tragic occurance. I agree with the review below. It is wrong to release someone from prison after having terminated so many lifes. Theirs is certainly not more valuable nor is their pain of illness any greater than the pain of the family and friends lost to these dastardly acts. You are a gifted writer. Keep the words flowing.

[Twilight]

It is a sad piece of writing, and the writer has also added plenty of factual details. The praise from other reviewers, is certainly justified! Like many other people, you must have been disgusted at the sight on TV, of the convicted bomber receiving a hero's welcome in Libya?

Clearly, politics has been given more credence than truth or justice, in this situation. A bad moment in history, which our respective Governments should be ashamed of. This piece deserves some more reviews, don't you think? I will be sharing it with a few of my friends! Perhaps, some of you will follow my example? Thankyou, JC!