Something I read just now brought back a sad memory of when an acquaintance died, right around high school graduation, by drowning in the Central Park reservoir.
The story was that a few people were skinny dipping, when they got caught by the cops. Everybody else swam to the side and hid from the cops, but this kid never showed up. They searched for him through the night but didn't find his drowned body until the next day.
The tragedy of it at the time was enormous. And now I can't remember his name, though I kept thinking "Irish." I have a very clear memory of the last time I saw him, just days before he died -- in the Village, just outside Washington Square Park, possibly on West 8th Street. He was wearing shorts, a dirty t-shirt, blonde hair and a big smile. He was a partyer, a lot of fun and always seemed extremely happy. I knew him only casually but he was the kind of person everybody liked immediately, easy going and friendly. The part I didn't know about him was that he was a reckless soul.
Danny - if you are reading this, and you feel like it, I would love to know your memories. I used to think about this a lot, as I never knew anybody else who died that wasn't an old person/relative. The impact this event must have had on your life must be huge. I feel so sad that he is gone and seemingly forgotten, mostly because I couldn't find him on the internet, which has become the repository for all memories. I'm sure his family still mourns him every day.
The only thing I could find is this abstract from the NY Times. Charles Daniel McLaughlin. His first name still doesn't ring a bell but his last came back to me immediately (Irish!). After some thought and confirmation by a mutual friend, I realize we called him Danny McLaughlin to not confuse him with the other Danny. And also I'm guessing he went by Danny instead of Charles was because, according to the Times, he shared a first name with his father.
Lesson: don't die before the internet is invented or you will be forgotten to the annals of time and aging memories.
One other memory of Danny here:
http://tinyurl.com/nfpr2h
3 comments:
Full article is:
June 24, 1981
A YOUTH DROWNS IN THE RESERVOIR IN CENTRAL PARK
By JOSEPH B. TREASTER
An 18-year-old youth drowned yesterday in the reservoir in Central Park, where he had gone swimming at about midnight with friends who had just graduated from Stuyvesant High School.
The victim was identified as Charles Daniel McLaughlin, the son of Charles E. McLaughlin, a senior editor at GEO magazine. The police said they received a telephone report at 12:20 A.M. that some young people were swimming in the reservoir near 90th Street and the East Drive of the park.
The first two officers to arrive said they saw three girls and four young men in the water and ordered them out. They complied, the police said, but Mr. McLaughlin then jumped back into the water. Divers Find Body
''He swam away from the shore and appeared to go under and was never seen again,'' the police said. More officers were called. Some of them, with searchlights and rowboats, looked for the youth through the night. At 10 A.M., they called for a scuba team. At noon, the divers found Mr. McLaughlin's body about 60 feet from the shore.
Friends said Mr. McLaughlin was a strong swimmer. The police offered no explanation for the drowning, but one police report said the youth appeared to have been intoxicated.
The police of the Central Park Precinct said it was rare for anyone to attempt to swim in the reservoir, which is surrounded by a high fence and frequently patrolled. They could recall only one previous drowning there in the last 10 years.
Mr. McLaughlin graduated from the New Lincoln School at 210 East 77th Street on June 5. Gil Schmerler, the principal, said he was a ''pretty good student, a B-student, generally with a smattering of A's.'' He said Mr. McLaughlin, who had been especially interested in architecture and alternative forms of energy, had planned to postpone college for a year and to travel and work instead.
''He was an extremely friendly kid,'' Mr. Schmerler said. ''I saw him mainly with a smile on his face.''
An 18-year-old youth drowned yesterday in the reservoir in Central Park, where he had gone swimming at about midnight with friends who had just graduated from Stuyvesant High School.
The victim was identified as Charles Daniel McLaughlin, the son of Charles E. McLaughlin, a senior editor at GEO magazine. The police said they received a telephone report at 12:20 A.M. that some young people were swimming in the reservoir near 90th Street and the East Drive of the park.
The first two officers to arrive said they saw three girls and four young men in the water and ordered them out. They complied, the police said, but Mr. McLaughlin then jumped back into the water. Divers Find Body
''He swam away from the shore and appeared to go under and was never seen again,'' the police said. More officers were called. Some of them, with searchlights and rowboats, looked for the youth through the night. At 10 A.M., they called for a scuba team. At noon, the divers found Mr. McLaughlin's body about 60 feet from the shore.
Friends said Mr. McLaughlin was a strong swimmer. The police offered no explanation for the drowning, but one police report said the youth appeared to have been intoxicated.
The police of the Central Park Precinct said it was rare for anyone to attempt to swim in the reservoir, which is surrounded by a high fence and frequently patrolled. They could recall only one previous drowning there in the last 10 years.
Mr. McLaughlin graduated from the New Lincoln School at 210 East 77th Street on June 5. Gil Schmerler, the principal, said he was a ''pretty good student, a B-student, generally with a smattering of A's.'' He said Mr. McLaughlin, who had been especially interested in architecture and alternative forms of energy, had planned to postpone college for a year and to travel and work instead.
''He was an extremely friendly kid,'' Mr. Schmerler said. ''I saw him mainly with a smile on his face.''
Lessons are: 1. don't swim away from shore at night after drinking just to try to get away from cops
2. good swimmers can drown
3. dark reservoir water can hide pipes
4. we (cops would not let us go back in) should have done more immediately to try to save him but we all thought he was going to swim to the otherside and sneak out of the park. No one could actually see him though. Perhaps he was already under water.
5. this tragedy has made me very safety-conscious in general and especially around water
I am deleting the above comment because it is from a sales organization that sells flowers for funerals. Poor, poor taste Mr. Funeral Flowers.
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