For grieving mother, anti-drinking message hits home
The Rock Island Argus and The Dispatch
(Edgington, Illinois)
September 9, 2005By David Heitz
For grieving mother, anti-drinking message hits home
By David Heitz
EDGINGTON, Ill. — It was a message they probably had heard countless times before, but the student body at Rockridge High School clearly seemed to listen Thursday afternoon.
“Don’t drink and drive” took on a whole new meaning as the mother of a popular former student killed in an alcohol-related accident pleaded with her son’s contemporaries to make sensible choices during an assembly in the school gymnasium.“We saw our son lying there, not moving,” Joanne Murdock said, recalling a 2 a.m. telephone call that brought her to the scene where her son had been in a Jeep Grand Cherokee that rolled over.
Ryan Murdock, who graduated from Rockridge in 2004 after helping lead the school to the state baseball championship in 2003, had been traveling down a gravel road with four of his friends when he was ejected through the sun roof.
“I went to grab him and he was very, very cold,” his mother said, sobbing as hundreds of students wiped their eyes along with her. “As parents we tried to teach him right and wrong.
“That’s why we checked on where he was going and who he was going to be with. I think if Ryan had the opportunity to come back, he’d say with tears, ‘I went too soon.’ ”
He and his friends had been to a keg party at a farmhouse the night of the accident.
“We’d like to save all the kids and all the parents from the pain we’ve been experiencing,” Joanne Murdock said to a standing ovation.
Murdock made her remarks as part of a performance put on by MWAH!, a Chicago-based performing arts troupe also known as Messages Which Are Hopeful.
The MWAH! performers used hip-hop music, theatrics and straight talk to convey messages about bullying and diversity. The most emotional part of the assembly, however, came when the performers unveiled a portrait of Ryan Murdock and shared his story.
“His coach described him as having a heart as big as an elephant,” performer Simon Rodriguez Jr., 18, of Aurora, Ill., said. “During his years, Ryan didn’t just win games, he won people over.”
Glen Cook, the Rockridge baseball coach, told the students that life is full of making choices.
“Many decisions happen suddenly and you have to make a choice on the spot,” he said. “Tomorrow night is a Friday and there’s a football game, and there’s probably some parties scheduled.
“If there’s a party going on and you’re at that party and somebody brings alcohol, you have to be a good teammate and leave the party right then and take your friends with you.”
Sgt. Tom Burek of Illinois State Police District 7 headquarters in East Moline told the students to think “long and hard” about the choices they make. “Am I going to have a drink at the party or am I not? Am I going to have a drink at the party and drive? No, I’m not.”
Student Betty Rice, 17, of Buffalo Prairie, Ill., sobbed during the assembly as the MWAH! performers began talking about Ryan Murdock. Rice said she believes her fellow students listened intently to the message of not drinking and driving.
“It was very moving and touching. Nobody can make a decision for anyone else. I think (student drinking) has kind of died down a lot since what happened. Before that it was really high.
“Now I think it has hit home with a lot of people because of what happened to someone so many people were close to.”
Cook agreed. “They sure received it well,” he said. “When they get away from here, they have to make the right choices at the right time.
“Drinking is so glorified by everybody. You can’t think of a Clydesdale horse without beer. They really know how to market.”
Joanne Murdock is hopeful that the message made an impression on the students.
“That’s why we did it. We hope to save a life,” she said.
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2245 or newsroom@qctimes.com.