Only the Good Die Young

I have a couple of things I wanted to post about today, such as my Cooperstown trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame, or a post declaring the Browns were now going to the Super Bowl. Instead I need to write this to tell you about a real hero. His name is Sid Dowdley III, he is 14 years old and he died a week ago on Sunday.

Sid was with his family at a church picnic at Lake Pymatuning. He was in a boat with some relatives when his 3 year old nephew jumped in the water, Sid jumped in after him, got the little boy out and then got caught up in the murky water. He was underwater for 40 minutes before finally surfacing, we was taken to a small Andover medical facility where he was stabilized, (those of you who were there when Brendan broke his leg know where I mean), then flown to Akron Children's Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 11:07 pm.

I have to admit I only knew Sid a short time, I spent 3 weeks with him at Summer School this year, but he was the kind of kid who has a lasting effect on those who came into contact with him. I wondered to myself if Sid was really as good of a kid as I thought he was, as I stated my time with him was limited. I saw Sid as a leader, the other boys flocked to him, he had a great big smile and was at the center of the group. Not because he was the coolest boy in the class, or best athlete, or smartest, (though he was probably near the top in all three of those categories), and the other boys wanted to be his friend to be viewed as cool as well. Sid just had the type of personality that people, boys, girls, adults, old people, are drawn to.

When the other boys would pick on each other, Sid didn't. Again I knew him very little but these other 8th grade boys made fun of each other like 8th grade boys. But Sid stayed above it. Sid had the height, muscle, and athletic ability that when you heard Sid wanted to be a professional basketball player you didn't just group that aspiration with all other 14 year olds who are going to be athletes, rappers, singers, or actors. Then you read his obituary and find out Sid's dream was to be a U.S. Marine. With all that is going on in our world today how many 8th graders are seriously thinking about that kind of a life? Knowing this about Sid it makes perfect sense that he would put his life in harm's way to save someone else without a second to think about the danger.

Flexing his muscles was listed as one of Sid's hobbies,
and I know Sid would want the girls to see this one.

Every thought I had about what kind of person Sid was was confirmed today at his calling hours and funeral today. The amount of tears shed by his classmates was overwhelming. Even in death his friends just wanted to be around him. I watched as the same kids went up to the casket over and over again, by themselves and with different combinations of friends.

Sid's father is confined to an electric wheelchair, and judging by appearance is a bit older than the average father of a 14 year old boy. I heard a story today that on Friday nights if there was a dance, a game, or a party Sid wouldn't go, Friday was his night with his dad. Others told stories about Sid volunteering at nursing homes and his dedication to his church. To paraphrase the words of one of Sid's teachers from Washington Elementary, Sid was the kind of person you hope your kid will be like, smart, cool, good looking, athletic, competitive, and caring.

I have a lot of good things in my life, but if I had to thank God for one thing today, it would be the opportunity to have known Sid Dowdley.