Forty-three years ago, in the summer of ’78, I was a twenty year old student at the University of Chicago. I stayed in town that summer to work in Dr. Law’s biochem lab, and I lived off-campus in my friend Charles’ apartment at 50th and the lake. With no classes to tie me down, I rode the El everywhere, enjoying the freedom of flexible hours to experience life in the big city. That’s why this story from 9News really hit home for me when I saw it yesterday:
CHICAGO — Max Lewis, a Denver native who was attending college in Chicago, died after he was struck by a stray bullet while riding on Chicago’s Green Line train last week…. Lewis, a student at the University of Chicago, was on his way home from a summer internship in the downtown area when the shooting occurred…. The 20-year-old was shot in the neck when a bullet crashed through a window of the train on July 1. According to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, he passed away on July 4.
“Max did nothing wrong,” said Lewis’s roommate, Zach Cogin. “He wasn’t walking into a bad area or doing something he shouldn’t have done. He was working an internship and took public transportation that thousands of people take in the city every day.”
“Max was an extraordinary young man with so much to offer the world. He will be deeply missed,” said Head of School Dr. Rand Harrington. “He touched so many lives and made a deep and positive impact on all he met…. He was known for his intellect, kindness and generosity of spirit. Over the years he grew into an exceptional scholar, full of good humor, curiosity, drive, and a deep passion for technology.”
That’s life in the big city, I guess.
I never met you, but in some ways I feel like I knew you very well.
RIP, Max.
DEW in ’78.