David

We weren't close but he was always nice to me, to everyone. He was on the baseball team in high school. I remember one of his senior pictures had a flaming baseball suspended over his hand...very cool. After we graduated one June day in 2000 he went to The University of Wisconsin - River Falls to become a teacher. He would have been a great teacher. He was my first classmate to pass away.

David Pawelk. I usually only think about him around the anniversary of his death which is November. But this weekend something strange happened. It was Saturday, the 20th of March. I had just gotten back from a 2 year old's birthday party. I was looking at some old emails that I haven't looked at in years. I came across one that said this: Dave 3/20/82 - 11/25/01 in the subject line. I opened it and it was his picture from the Memorial card. Then it hit me. TODAY is March 20th...his birthday would have been today. How weird that I would be looking at my old emails on this day and find this.

I guess since he was the first it was the most sad. How can someone who is 19 die? I was in shock when I heard it. It happened over Thanksgiving weekend in 2001. The details have kind of lost me, but it was a Sunday so maybe he was going back to school. What I do know is that he got in a car accident. I think he may have slipped on some ice. His car landed roof down in one of those puddles you find when exiting the freeway. He wasn't able to get out. And that was the end of the story. However, his memory lives on for me, and hopefully for others as well. I am sure I will always remember him each November, and maybe now I will remember him each March as well.