For Brandon

BY PATTY MINTZ

NovaNewsNow.com

The playground in the Pinewood and Royal Estates subdivision in Coldbrook has brought happiness to many children since it was built several years ago through a neighbourhood effort.

Now cloaked in snow and ice, it’s a gathering point in nice weather for kids in the community.

Darlene Wright, secretary of the Pinewood and Royal Estates Community Association, says it’s typical for parents to have to trudge to the playground to entice their offspring home for homework or supper. Jane Smith, whose house was practically in view of the swings, slides and climbing equipment, was among them.

Wright wonders with a worried frown what it must be like for Jane and Gary to drive by that playground now that their 16-year-old son Brandon is gone, killed in a car accident on Highway 101 just before Christmas. His 17-year-old brother Jared remains in hospital due to serious injuries he sustained in the same accident. The Smiths have established www.jaredupdate.blogspot.com to provide accurate updates on how their son is progressing.

Wright believes few can imagine the depth of the family’s sorrow.

“I’m a mother and grandmother, so it hit me hard. Gary and Jane’s life was those boys. They were very close-knit. They were so proud of their boys.”

Nineteen years ago, the Smiths moved into the development, a quiet, well-kept conglomeration of attractive homes.

“This subdivision, I find it great,” says Wright. “There are lots of kids; a lot of people walk.”

Gary and his sons, both students at Kings-Edgehill in Windsor, used to mow the grass at the community’s entrance. In short, it’s a place where families feel relatively safe and connected to their neighbours.



Assuage the grief

Several weeks ago, Floyd Andrews, who lives next door to the Smiths, couldn’t clear his driveway without drawing a crowd of seven or eight concerned neighbours, all wondering what they could do for the stricken Smiths. Initially, it was suggested funds should be raised to help the couple cope with the tremendous financial strain, but soon talk turned in another direction.

Where Andrews grew up, he says, people started baking as a means to assuage their sense of shared grief, but in these circumstances, he says, more is needed.

“Instinctively, people want to do something right from their heart; a genuine thing,” says Andrews. In the end, “we decided to form a committee” to look for a meaningful project.

By general consensus, a plan unfolded to remember the big-hearted, red-haired teen who loved snowboarding with his friends and spending summers as a volunteer camp counselor.

Andrews says doing something to rejuvenate the aging park feels right, especially since the Smiths, who are currently on leave from their jobs, have given it their blessing.

“The boys had never lived anywhere else. They had always been boys here,” says Andrews, and they spent many hours in their younger years playing in the subdivision playground.

Andrews knew both boys as “very well mannered, very polite. They were giving kids, very responsible.” Brandon, he notes, had a special outlook on life. “He always had a smile, maybe a little quirky thing to say, a mischievous grin. There wasn’t a bad bone in him.”



‘Dedicate our playground’

Flyers, created and distributed by the committee throughout the area, outline the project: “First, we will dedicate our playground in memory of Brandon. Second, we will collect donations in memory of Brandon and use the donations to purchase more playground equipment. Third, we will hold a playground dedication at a later date when the sign and new playground equipment are installed.”

Wright says there is a March 1, 2008 deadline for contributions to the Brandon Playground account in the hope the new sign and equipment will be ready to use by this summer.

As money is raised, supporters hope the municipality will assist with additional grants.

Gary, manager of Protective and Emergency Services for the Municipality of Kings County, and Jane, team secretary with Adult Mental Health Program, Mental Health and Addiction Services, Annapolis Valley Health, are pleased with the project.

“We feel honoured on behalf of Brandon. This overwhelming gesture has wrapped a huge hug around all our hearts.”

The two say the outpouring of love and concern from people across North America, including some they do not know, has been a surprise and a comfort, although their anguish remains profound.

Asked how they are feeling at this point in time, they replied, “numb, overwhelmed and heartbroken for losing our Brandon.”

Their son was a person who thought and gave beyond himself, and that person, they say, lives on as a tissue/organ donor.

“Our entire family are donors. We discussed this issue with both boys when we renewed our MSI cards. During the tragedy, we felt that Brandon would want to help people (in this way).”

The Smiths say their strength comes from faith, and the support of friends, family and medical staff. “We did what we felt needed to be done and take life one day at a time. We thank everyone for the caring and support provided to us.”

In the meantime, their neighbours continue working on the memorial project for Brandon, and continue to pray for a positive outcome for Jared, Jane and Gary.

“You feel so helpless,” says Andrews. “You want to take a piece of the pain from them, but you can’t. The most you can do is be there.”



How to contribute

Cheques in support of the playground project in memory of Brandon Smith are payable to Pinewood and Royal Estates Community Association. Donations may be dropped off at the following locations, where receipts will be given:

Dorothy and Jim Mailman; 1521 Sarah Dr. Coldbrook, N.S. B4R 1A1 (902-678-5709); Floyd and Tia Andrews, 3128 Pinewood Ave., Coldbrook, N.S. B4R 1A1; Roxanne Brown and Mike Holland, 1475 Edith Dr. Coldbrook, N.S. B4R 1A1.