In Memory of Stephen Gold

I turned 40 back on March 15 and have been reflecting a lot on my life. One of the treasure I have in life is a wonderful family and great friends. I wrote the piece below as part as the introduction to some writings I did in high school. Stephen Gold and I met in grade school .Even though we were the same age, the school held me back which was really the start of a very bumpy road for me. We separated for awhile and were reunited at Pascack Valley High School Stephen was born with MS. Doctors said he wouldn't see his fifth birthday, he lived triple that amount of time. He was one of the first, if not THE FIRST, children in Bergen County to break the bonds of special education. i don't know the background but even though he lived in River Vale, he went to Dorchester School  in Woodcliff Lake with Darren, another kid with CP, and myself. He graduated Pascack Valley in 1996 and was scheduled to attend Ramapo College that September. Stephen didn't make it, he succumbed  to his illness just days before attending his first class. I was devastated. \My first funeral was for a friend, my age, younger than me by two months. I remember the principal of PV gave a touching eulogy. I'll never forget her last words about Stephen, "Pause, grieve, remember him and live your life". Today would have been Stephen Gold's 40th birthday

 Stephen--  I have had people tell me how insight I could be when I want to, Stephen was always like that... Folks say Steve reminded them of Yoda, the wise character in Star Was. He always had an idea about people's emotions, no matter if the were good or bad. Stephen was the most outgoing of all ofus. He did it all, student council and the debate team were his favorites. I always saw a book on his lap when he was travelling down the hallways at Pascack Valley [High School].  Students and teachers alike respected Stephen, he always had advice to give without sounding like he knew it all. Students and teachers alike respected Stephen.

Even though he and Tom had MS, Steve had other problems. Doctors said he'd never see his tenth birthday. He was very thin, even thinner than I am, barely weighing sixty pounds at age eighteen. It got to the point where he couldn't lift his head if he accidentally bent it down. It was serious whenever he got sick because his immune system had so many deficiencies. Most critical was his breathing. Steve was rushed to the hospital so many times I couldn't even begin to count. I'll never forget the one time the ambulance pulled up to the school. As soon as it came, I knew it was for Stephen. Folks who really knew Steve knew it was just a precaution,  but it scared me

When I wrote the Journal, I always forgot to mention Stephen, but his wisdom somehow found its way in there. With Steve's guidance, I was able to come up with some of my best work.. It was riding on that bus I thought of Sydel's graduation letter, because Steve was the first person to really realize how I felt./

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