WBEZ | death

After Aaron

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 17:02:00 -0600

I am still wearing my best black wool dress. I am drained from crying, and from staying awake late last night reading tributes online. I am thinking about what it means to be a suicide survivor. I have just been to Aaron Swartz’s funeral.

I have known Aaron’s partner, Taren, for 12 years. We share a mutual best friend – mine from high school, hers from college. In the time I’ve known Taren we have been bridesmaids together in two different weddings. We have traveled together, confided in one another and offered one another advice. I know that in losing Aaron Swartz the world lost a great visionary, a public intellectual, and a technological pioneer. I know his death and the controversy surrounding it have become an international news story. But ever since I learned of Aaron’s death I have been looking at this tragedy through the lens of my friend’s deep personal loss.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention some 34,000 people die by suicide every year in the U.S. But that number is dwarfed by the number of “survivors,” the devastated friends, family and loved ones suicide leaves behind.

In their grief, survivors experience shock and depression, understandably, but also anger, sometimes even anger towards the deceased. There is also guilt: the sense they could or should have done more before it was too late.

I saw those emotions unfurled at Aaron’s funeral. The service took place in a small synagogue in Highland Park, Ill., a suburb north of Chicago. There were no flowers, but no protestors either, despite earlier threats from the Westboro Baptist Church. Aaron’s body lay in a wooden casket outside the sanctuary. Jewish law dictates that the body of the deceased not be alone for an instant before he is buried, so a dedicated mourner sat in a folding chair beside the coffin and prayed over Aaron while mourners filed into the hall.

Taren delivered the first eulogy, staring from the podium into a sea of dark suits. She looked spent and wan; her large eyes were ringed with dark circles and her hair hung down in a curtain beside her face. But she laughed as she recounted how she and Aaron had shared a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of mac n’ cheese – his favorites – at a happy hour in New York the night before his death. How he had promised to reward the diligent cleaning of her inbox with one cuddle for every email deleted, how he had woken her up one Saturday morning, imploring, “I need to talk to you about Bayesian statistics.”

OK, she had said that day, but could she wake up a little bit first? No, he insisted. This was very important. They spent the next several hours working out a complex mathematical equation, “trying to remember how to do multivariable calculus,” and, it seemed from her account, feeling very lucky to have one another.

“That is what Aaron meant to me,” Taren said. “These simple moments of joy.”

But Taren shared other memories, too: how tired Aaron seemed in recent weeks, how overwhelmed and helpless he felt. She and Aaron’s other friends and mentors – including Tim Berners-Lee, the godfather of the World Wide Web, and copyright activist Lawrence Lessig – painted a picture of a remarkable young man, but also a very vulnerable one. In their memorials, Aaron did not come across as depressed – just backed into a corner. Aaron, it seems, was surrounded by people who adored him, and yet he felt alone. Even the people closest to him did not realize just how alone he felt.

Aaron’s father, Robert, has already been quoted today saying that his son “didn’t commit suicide,” that MIT and the government were responsible for his death. But Mr. Swartz also said he blamed himself for not doing enough to protect his son.

Aaron’s defense attorney, Elliot Peters, admitted to feeling “disappointed” in Aaron. But he also seemed angry that he wouldn’t have the chance to defend Aaron in court, and spun out his never-to-be-realized fantasy: that day when a jury would have found Aaron not guilty, and they would have been able to “get the last word.”

Lessig, Aaron’s long-time friend and mentor, prepared a memorial slideshow that “only [he] and Aaron would ever get to see,” and told mourners they had “lost an elder” this week, someone wise beyond his years. But Lessig followed that by saying they had also “lost a child,” one who desperately needed to be protected.

They are all survivors now, searching for answers and casting blame, whether on themselves or on others. Let us be kind to them, and comfort them, and protect them however we can -- just as they have asked us to do a better job of protecting other people in pain. Let us offer the advice given here: Be kind to yourself. When you feel ready, begin to go on with your life. Eventually starting to enjoy life again is not a betrayal of your loved one, but rather a sign that you've begun to heal.

Towards the end of the service, a young girl walked up to Taren and put her arms around her neck. It was Ada, the daughter of Aaron’s ex-girlfriend Quinn Norton. Norton wrote about her relationship with Aaron, and of his love for Ada, the day after his death. “In his darkest moments, when I couldn’t reach him, Ada could still touch him, even if only for a moment,” she wrote.

Taren must have known, because she too seemed immensely grateful for the girl’s affection. She crisscrossed her arms around Ada. She rested her forehead on the girl’s. And her body shook with sobs as the rabbi delivered his closing prayer.

If you’re having thoughts of suicide please speak to someone. In the U.S. call 1-800-273-8255.

Chicago woman, 83, dies of cold exposure

Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:55:00 -0600

Authorities say an 83-year-old Chicago woman was the first cold-related death of the season in Cook County.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office says a relative found Florence Hawkins unresponsive in her bed. She was pronounced dead at her home on the city's South Side on Tuesday.

The medical examiner's office says an autopsy on Wednesday found Hawkins died of cold exposure and that heart disease was a contributing factor.

The National Weather Service reports that the low temperature on Tuesday was 17 degrees and Monday night's low was 23 degrees.

Authorities say there were at least seven cold-related deaths in Cook County during the cold season of 2011-2012 with the first reported on Dec. 3, 2011.

Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys dies at 47

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:51:00 -0500

Updated on 5/04/2012 at 1:48 pm

Adam Yauch, the gravelly voiced Beastie Boys rapper who co-founded the seminal hip-hop group, has died at age 47.

Yauch's representatives confirmed that the rapper died Friday morning in New York after a nearly three-year battle with cancer.

Also known as MCA, Yauch was diagnosed with a cancerous salivary gland in 2009. He had undergone surgery and radiation.

At the time, Yauch expressed hope it was "very treatable," but his illness caused the group to cancel shows and delayed the release of its 2011 album, "Hot Sauce Committee, Pt. 2."

The Brooklyn-born Yauch created the Beastie Boys with high school friend Michael "Mike D" Diamond. Originally conceived as a hardcore punk group, it became a hip-hop trio after Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz joined.

Third Lake Forest High School student dies in Metra accident

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:14:00 -0500

A Lake Forest High School student was struck and killed by a Metra train last weekend, the third student from the north-suburban school to be killed by a Metra train since January.

Lake Forest Deputy Police Chief Glenn Burmeister said Monday that all three student deaths were intentional. The three cases have very little in common, though all of them were male and attended the same high school. The male discovered Sunday was 18 years old, and a senior in high school.

Lake Forest High School Principal Jay Hoffmann released a statement to parents about the incident, writing "It is with indescribable sorrow that I am writing once again to inform you of the loss of one of our students." The student, he said, was "talented and bright" and "will be missed." Hoffman encouraged students to talk to outside organizations for support, as the high school is currently on spring break.

The two other boys were hit by Metra trains in January and March. Both were 15 years old.

Data from the Lake County Health department show there were 67 suicides in 2010, a 10 percent increase from 2009. The department established a suicide prevention task force in January.

Deputy Chief Burmeister, a member of the task force, said meetings are held monthly to look at the larger aspect of suicides in the community and how to deal with and help prevent them.

Apologies and Attribution: The new breaking news

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:54:00 -0600

Generations of reporters have used the phrase, "If your mother says she loves you, check it out." Though, it seemed over the weekend that maxim was ignored by some big news organizations when they reported former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno had died on Saturday - well before Paterno's actual death Sunday. So, what went wrong? Who’s to blame? Jen Sabella, editor of the Huffington Post Chicago and WBEZ news desk editor Tony Arnold and editorial consultant Carl Lavin joined Eight Forty-Eight to discuss how news outlets attribute and source their news in these days of aggregation. Lavin, who says the best time to be a journalist is now, recently outlined "10 Lessons for Newsrooms: On Accuracy and Apologies."

Postcard: Shipwreck graveyard

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:05:00 -0500

The Inverhuron Cemetery is a small pioneer cemetery dating back to the 1800s.

It sits nestled in the aged trees in what is now a Provincial Park along the Canadian Coast of Lake Huron. It was once a town, until a fire in 1887 burnt every building to the ground. One of the only surviving elements is the cemetery. In the middle of the cemetery is a 200-year-old maple tree, surrounded by gravestones that have worn smooth over time.

Adrienne Mason used to lead tours of the cemetery. She would sing songs, answer questions and tell stories. The tale she says garnered the most interest was the story of the unknown sailor from 1880.

“His body was found washed up on shore,” Adrienne explained. “Along with a mason jar, or preserving jar containing a gold captain’s watch, and on that watch it said ‘to my wife’. But, no one ever learned of the sailor’s identity… so it’s kind of a mystery.”

Most people buried in the cemetery are a mystery. There are about 80 tombstones, but they estimate that almost 700 people are buried in about a hectare of land, mostly in unmarked graves.

“Most of the markings for the graves were actually made of wood, and unfortunately have decomposed,” Adrienne said.

More than one of the people buried in the Inverhuron Cemetery died on the waters.

The water was so integral to the lifestyle in the 1800s, the back roads were often impassable and everything was shipped into the port.

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But, Adrienne says around here it’s known that the mighty Lake Huron can turn on you faster than you’d think.“The weather can at one point seem perfect. Blue sky and 30 degrees, and all of a sudden a clouds rolls across the horizon. And all of a sudden the lake becomes so destructive and frightening,” she said.

Adrienne tells the story of a captain who sank to the bottom of the lake with a brand new pair of boots around his neck, she explains how a woman once washed ashore in a current from the other side of Lake Huron.

“I think that having the cemetery here is a testament to that period of history, the stones themselves have stories to tell. You can feel the stories when you walk through the trails, walk through the forest,” Adrienne said. “It sets your imagine ablaze when you know you’re standing in the place where those stories took place.”

Was Pakistan’s government or military involved in hiding Bin Laden?

Tue, 03 May 2011 16:01:00 -0500

When U.S. forces found and killed Osama bin Laden, he was in a million-dollar estate, just feet from a military base and only 35 miles from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Reports reveal bin Laden may have hidden in the compound for years.

John O. Brennan, who serves as President Obama’s top adviser on terrorism, pledged today to “get to the bottom” of whether the Pakistani government provided help to Osama bin Laden in his decade-long efforts to avoid detection.

Pakistan’s government today denied any prior knowledge of the raid that killed bin Laden, but said it had been sharing information about the targeted compound with the CIA since 2009.

Anatol Lieven is a professor in the war studies department at King's College London and author of the book Pakistan: A Hard Country. He examines some of the puzzling questions surrounding Osama bin Laden.

Osama bin Laden's dead, what's next?

Mon, 02 May 2011 16:24:00 -0500

Last night President Obama announced that al Qaeda’s founder, Osama bin Laden, was found and killed by American special forces about an hour’s drive north of Islamabad, Pakistan. We spend the hour dissecting the significance of Osama bin Laden’s death.

We'll take your calls at 312.832.3124. What’s your reaction to the news? What affect do you think it will have on American national security and foreign policy? What was Pakistan's role, if any, in Bin Laden's ability to avoid capture?

Today’s panel includes:

Steve Clemons, founder of the New America Foundation’s American Strategy Program and author of the blog, The Washington Note.

Imam Malek Mujahid, executive producer of the Chicago program Radio Islam.

Joseph Kechichian, security analyst for the Middle East Institute.

A conversation from Paris with Oscar Wilde and Moliere

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:40:00 -0500

Some readers and WBEZ listeners may know that I teach theater part-time at the University of Illinois at Chicago, which is why I was in Paris two weeks ago. No, UIC didn’t send me (couldn’t afford to, as the State of Illinois owes the university system about $450 million), but it was Spring Break and so I sent myself. Hey, WBEZ pays me the big bucks so why not spend ‘em?

Naturally, in Paris I found myself standing before the Comedie-Francaise, the famous theater company that’s only 350 years old. It’s often called the “Maison de Moliere” since the troupe is a direct descendent of Moliere’s royally-sponsored theater company of the 1660’s. Boldly, I asked the press office if they could arrange for me to interview Moliere and they were happy to oblige.

A time was set for what proved to be a sunny and pleasant day and I arrived at the appointed hour. I regret to report that Moliere was not very forthcoming. I really only had one question for him: what are you working on now? He refused to reply, but there was eloquence nonetheless in his cold and stony silence. Well, you know Parisians are infamous for their “hauteur,” for their aloof arrogance. Moliere may be a regular pantaloon on stage, but in person he’s Parisian through-and-through.

I still had time to kill and a press deadline to meet, so I thought I might try my luck with a famous Anglo-Irish expatriate playwright whom I heard was in Paris. To my relief, Oscar Wilde was far more forthcoming. When I asked Oscar what he was working on, he said “I really don’t know, but I hear whispers all around me.”

“Well, Mr. Wilde,” I replied, “the only thing worse than being talked about is NOT being talked about.”

“Ah, yes,” he said. “That sounds familiar.”

“Do the whispers say anything in particular?” I asked.

“They are a bit muddled,” he allowed. “I hear many voices talking at once, but they seem to be urging me to write about ‘the love that dare not speak its name.’ Alas, perhaps it IS time to do so.”

“Rather past time,” I said. “Then again, Noel Coward never did address the subject directly, and neither did Tennessee Williams until very late in his career.”

“Noel who?” Oscar said. “And Tennessee? Isn ‘t that part of the American frontier?”

Oscar and even Moliere allowed me to have my picture taken with them. And then I was off to call on Edith Piaf and Marcel Marceau.

Finding faith on Day of the Dead

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 14:59:00 -0500

Today, Christians in North America celebrate All Souls’ Day. The faithful pray for their deceased. The hope is that those undergoing purification in Purgatory will be allowed into heaven.

All Souls’ isn’t as well known as the more frequently observed All Saints Day and Day of the Dead.

But this focus on death and dying got local writer Teresa Puente thinking about how her travels introduced her to the idea of unwavering faith. Puente is an assistant professor of journalism at Columbia College Chicago, and she is writing a travel memoir about her four years living in Mexico.