Jeffrey Bordeaux, Jr a Smile to Remember

On the day that a man with a dream was born 82 years ago, the life of a young and bright dreamer was lost. He lay in the cold snow in front of a big old house on; a house where young men gather to fraternize. The house was located on the campus of the University of Rochester In Rocheser, New York, i was the home of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. The young man was handsome and he always wore a big smile. On January 15, 2011, he was stabbed in his upper body by another student. He was discovered at 1:10am and pronounced dead fifty-five minutes later at Strong Memorial Hospital. His name was Jeffrey Bordeaux, Jr., he was twenty yeas old.

Police reported that Jeffrey and his attacker Daren Venable, also twenty years old and a junior from Brooklyn, New York, had a disagreement of an undisclosed nature. The long standing dispute became physical and Daren stabbed Jeffrey to death. Over the years I have written many of these stories, I have cried many tears; I feel each mother's pain and I feel the absence of the potential a young life may have had. Jeffrey like Danroy Henry and other good and decent young men who lived their lives, doing the right thing, studying hard, helping others and planning for their future were taken away violently and much too soon. Jeffrey was a bright student, and liked by everyone that knew him. A junior majoring in political science, he was planning to study in Shanghai China this month.

Jeffrey ran track and field and worked the maximum (20 hours) allowed a week (20) to support his college education and abide the rules of his scholarship. He will not be working anymore, his mother will never hold him again, his father will never again see his long strides on the track, his younger sister will never hear his laughter or his advice and his friends will not again enjoy his company.

Daren Venable plead not guilty to second degree murder and on Thursday, January 20, 2011 the grand jury indicted him. One day after Venable's indictment, a memorial service was held to celebrate Jeffrey's life. Hundred's gathered on Friday, January 21, 2011 at the Aenon Baptist Church. The service like his life was filled with laughter. Jeffrey's close friend Ibrahim Sannoh said that "Jeffrey thought he was a black James Bond. "He was funny too" he said, "He didn't try to be funny he just was".

The pain of this story in replay intensifies with each young life lost, each voice silenced and each smile sealed shut. The shock effect is now lost for the reality of its frequency seems to have numbed most of us into acceptance. I ask God and myself, what can I do to make a difference, the answer eludes me. I retreat to my laptop and pour out my heart onto the keyboard moistened by my dropping tears which sometimes cloud my vision. Through my shower of pain I see two more lives lost; two more dreams unrealized and two more families in distress. I pray that one bright and sunny day the rain of tears will go away and there will be no more such stories to tell of senseless deaths over meaningless words, turfs or jealousies. I will remember you Jeffrey Bordeaux, Jr. and I will remember your smile.

Authors Note: If you want to make a difference please listen to the links of audio files attached, it is not intended to please you, but raher to Stir It Up.