Radio Free Montone: Rest In Peace, Andrew
By John Montone, 1010 WINS
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- "In the midst of life, we are in death."
The disappearance and death of 27-year-old Andrew Jarzyk reminded me of that ancient prayer for those who have left us forever. Jarzyk's tragic ending was one of those stories that touched me in a personal way. His age for one -- close to that of our own adult children. And where the Hudson River gave up his body -- near the train station in Hoboken.
It's a beautiful place near a park that is full of young life with a high def view of the lower Manhattan skyline. Hoboken itself is a bustling, booming city that young people flock to as they begin their great post-childhood life's journey.
On a gray, rainy morning just hours after his family confirmed that the body was Andrew's, I stood on the west bank of the great river with my mic and recorder catching the sound of the waves smashing against the rocks. Like his family and friends, I asked how this had come to be and like them, for now, I had no answer.
Jarzyk, a young banking professional was hanging out at a local bar in the wee hours of March 30, Saturday night into Sunday morning. The last anyone saw of him was on a video tape from a surveillance camera a short time later. He was dressed in exercise attire, running on a path along the river bank which is separated from the water by a four foot black iron fence.
Could he have leaned over and lost his balance? Been pushed? It seems so unlikely that he would have taken his own life. He was successful with a loving family and those with him at the bar recalled that he was in good spirits. Maybe someone knows the truth. Maybe not.
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If anything about this heartbreaking tale could lift the spirits, it was how his family and girlfriend chose to remember him. Posting on Facebook they wrote of Andrew as a young man of, "passions" and "kindness" and asked those who now ache with grief to remember his "smile." And they had the strength to urge those close to him, "not to dwell on the 'what ifs' of life."
Here are their loving words, "The beautiful thing about this Earth is that the sun will rise again tomorrow and his memories will shine on us every day when the sun does rise. Keep Andrew in your hearts."
John Montone, 1010 WINS News.
Be well.
