HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAT!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!!!!!!

Pat's CD makes local news

Woodstock Villager May 20, 2012

Pomfret School continues to remember Pat.  The spring edition of the Pomfret School Bulletin ran the following notice of his new CD.

At long last, Pat's CD, has been released.  It was designed by Libby and me, but most importantly, it was reviewed by musical friends who taught and loved him.  It's available on his web site at CD Baby:

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/patrickwood

The digital version can be downloaded, but I highly recommend the hard copy because of the tributes.  I asked many to comment.  All replied, and their stories brought him back again.  Even if you have heard his music before, you will enjoy their memories, including a history and homage from Pat's first teacher Ann Warde, along with many who played with him.  As Ann implied, you didn't really teach Pat, you just let him take you for the ride of your life.

The CD includes a tribute from alternative rapper M C Lars, Pat’s roommate at Stanford, who wrote a song about Pat called “Twenty-Three.”  “I met Pat my freshman year and instantly was captivated by his sense of humor and intelligence and great spirit.  I miss him so much and wish I could have done something to prevent his passing... but none of us knew how serious it was.  That’s the pernicious nature of depression…”  The video, sponsored by the American Federation for Suicide Prevention, is available on:  http://mclars.com/site/activism.

What is this CD about?  It's about Pat's legacy as an exhilarating young man, who devoured music and math and soared through life, but who could not escape the ravages of depression.  It’s about his triumph and achieving the height of humanity, but also about the very real depth of his soul.  You can hear it in the intensity of his music.  There’s the lift of “Aufswung” (soaring) and the isolation in Des Abends (in the evenings).  It’s a reminder that no matter how capable we appear on the outside, everyone is vulnerable.  His music speaks to the highs and lows of life, the virtuosity but also the gravity that comes with passion.  Even though Pat did not survive, the CD sends a message of hope that those who are victims of suicide will be remembered for embracing humanity.  They fought pain without hope of relief, and they deserve our understanding.  


Proceeds will go to Pat's Scholarship at Pomfret School.  We give $1000 a year to a day student from northeastern Connecticut, who has high academic qualifications, but we are hoping to raise much more.  Pat received so much help from Pomfret, and we want to pass that legacy on to future “Pat Wood Scholars.”  Previous winners include:  Hannah Leo, Pomfret School Class of 2011, Isabelle Lofquist ‘12, Zachary Bellerose ‘12, Harrison Schroder ‘13, Daniel Kellaway ‘14, and Cead Jones ‘15

The CD was remastered by Pomfret’s own Mark Thayer of Signature Sounds.  Mark really brought out the highlights and guided the process from original audio files to the polished final results.  Most importantly, he shared a sensitivity about the importance of preserving Pat’s music.  It had to be perfect, and Mark made sure of that.  Copies are available in local stories including Wonderland Books, Pomfret Spirit Shop, the Pomfret School Book Store and Advancement Office, Martha’s Herbary, Celebrations, Pizza 101, and the Vanilla Bean,

Although Pomfret School has been in the forefront of gay issues for some time, I just recently discovered an insightful article about their gay-friendly campus.  In 2009 the school paper, called The Pontefract after the school's namesake in England, questioned whether Pomfret was fully tolerant.  Here are the students' responses.   

Pomfret School Remembers Pat

Pomfret School was kind enough to run a story of the scholarship established in his memory. The following appeared in the fall 2011 Pomfret School Bulletin.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAT!!!

Media Coverage of Pat

Two local newspapers explained more about Caed Jones, this year's winner of Pat's scholarship to Pomfret School.


The Norwich Bulletin July 31, 2011



The Putnam Town Crier August 11, 2011

A Student Who Cared

Two more articles recognize the student who wrote them, as well as Pat. Sara Markes was a shy, bubbling eighth-grader when she entered Rectory School several years ago. Contradictory as that may sound, it described her ability to be soft spoken but bursting with curiosity and indignation at the same time. She felt a kinship with Pat. She cared deeply about everything. She would rush into newspaper class, talking faster than I could understand about injustice. The result was two gutsy articles about tolerance for gays. She was the first to write what everyone knew in their hearts but rarely admitted. She was a fighter for goodness, including Patrick.

The Effect of Pat in School

Pat's death has affected people who didn't know him. I see it in my school. Kids know that he died and seek me out. They have a feeling that I connect on a different level because of him, and they're right. Whether it's bad test day, bad friend day, or just plain things are wrong day, they know I'm a listener. Because of Pat. Sometimes we take it to the next step and write about it for the school paper, and because these articles are so closely tied to Pat, I continue to post a few in hopes that others who mourn can see how his death is changing. It's rippling through those who knew him and those who didn't. It's hurting and yet it's strengthening. It's a whiplash between good and grief. The articles that come out of the bad days are some of the good. Kids are thinking. They're serious. They want tolerance, and they want it for everybody. They inspire me to want it, too, whether it's for eleven-year-olds in Springfield who commit suicide or for anyone feeling lost. The articles are a collaborative search for answers. They are a search for Pat.

Pat's Garden

Lavender Franz Schubert Phlox

Monarchs on the Gay Feather

A friend once told me that butterflies are spirits. If so, maybe Pat has come home.

Pat's Winner

Bob, Caed with parents TJ and Tiffany, and Lisette

The new winner of Pat's Award says so much about Pat. He's kind and loyal. He works incredibly hard, but he doesn't forget what's important. Caed Jones graduated from Pomfret Community School in June, and Bob and I were there to present him with a silver bowl and the honor of academic achievement. Beyond merit, Caed was chosen for his outstanding character, which earned him the respect of his classmates and Pomfret School where he will attend in the fall. He represents the best of Pat's life: goodness beyond greatness. It was our honor to recognize him.

Happy birthday Pat!!!

Bullycide

Pat’s life is still changing. It’s taking on new forms in the way all who knew him think and act and prioritize. For Andrew Nielson, it’s been the life-changing video “Twenty-Three.” For Libby, it’s been acceptance into the best therapy degree program in the country. For Colin, it’s been to pursue a degree in finance, which has required advanced math and programming, much like Pat used to do. For Bob, it’s been to caretake Pat’s grave and the Pomfret cemetery in which he lies. For me, it’s been to learn by writing and doing what I think Pat would value. Mainly, my learning has been through school, working with middle school students, offering a new understanding of their lives and a reordering of my own. Some of those understandings are not really understandings at all, but a drive for a wider take on the world. It’s a drive which includes Pat’s story and which is unfortunately the story of many other young people. It’s a drive motivated by Pat, but also by the students I see every day–their worries, questions, and fears. What about the hurts, the hates, the unknown, and the heartbreaks? Why is there violence? How do you handle pain?

This year, in particular, students asked questions of why young people, their own age, were so despondent that they took their own lives. How did they get to the same point as Pat? How did life look so hopeless that as young as age eleven, they came home from school and died soon afterward? Sometimes their questions were simpler. Why can’t people treat each other fairly?

As the newspaper advisor for my school, I encouraged them to write. Explore those issues, interview others, make sense out of the questions they pondered. But deep down the questions were mine. How could I explore, interview, and make sense? I was the student. I was the one really learning, and I did it alongside my middle school comrades. With a few names deleted, here were some of the results. For easier viewing, click on the article and then magnify.