A tragic accident
Among the two dozen or so high school kids who worked for me as Teen View columnists at the High Point Enterprise, Phillip Schrum stood out for his reliability.
With all the young writers, I stressed the importance of meeting deadlines. I told them I didn't care what assignments were due for school, what outside commitments they had, if it was a holiday, if they were going out of town, if they were sick. No matter what, the column had to be submitted on time.
Phillip, then a freshman at Andrews, never let me down. Only after finding his column in my email as expected when I arrived at work one Monday morning did I get a call from his mother, Jane, telling me that Phillip had been taken to the hospital Sunday night with an attack of appendicitis. Although he had been in severe pain, Jane told me, Phillip had insisted on finishing his column before going to the hospital.
From then on, I used Phillip as an example when telling other Teen View writers about the level of dedication I demanded from them. I was only exaggerating a little.
That was five or six years ago. I recalled the episode of Phillip's appendicitis when I ran in to his father, Pic, at the High Point library Saturday morning. He told me Phillip was doing well at Taylor University in Indiana and happened to be home for a break. I asked him to say hello for me.
So I was shocked to read in this morning's paper that Phillip was killed Saturday afternoon. He'd been jogging, was startled by an approaching dog, stepped in to the street and was struck by a van. He died at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. He was 20 years old.
I remember Phillip as a bright, amiable young man. He played baseball at Andrews, then transferred to Wesleyan Christian Academy where he ran on the cross country team and graduated in 2003.
I'm sure he would have been successful in life, someone who would achieve his goals even under difficult circumstances. He proved that to me.
This is a dreadful loss for his family, and my prayers are with them.
Comments (3)
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Doug,
I read this post right before work today.
I don't know if you posted it initially without a title or if it just didn't show up on my screen for some reason, but I did not see "A tragic accident" as I began reading.
That made a strong difference in how I read what you wrote.
When you mentioned Phillip as one of the High Point Enterprise's Teen View columnists, I was guessing that you might be leading into an update on the News & Record's efforts to begin a page for teenagers.
I did not know Phillip Schrum by name or in person, but as I read what you had written about him, I was just struck by what a neat personal story you were sharing about an impressive young man.
The detail about his dedication to taking care of a commitment, even in the face of perhaps intense physical pain, made him sound like exactly the kind of person our world can never have too many of. These kind of individuals do exist, and we probably do far too little to honor, recognize, and show overall appreciation for them. It's too easy to take such individuals for granted and focus on the ones who display obvious signs of sorriness and slackness instead. I sometimes think we are too inclined to focus on the negative without devoting enough attention to the positive. I liked reading about how you shared with others the story of Phillip's personal dedication and sacrifice for them to consider as a positive example for themselves.
It hit me hard when you revealed that Phillip had died in an accident.
Even though I did not know him, you had done enough in just a few paragraphs to make me like and respect Phillip as a person. He sounded like the kind of person I would enjoy meeting and getting to know personally.
I hope a lot of people have the opportunity to read what you wrote about Phillip.
We hype the impact of celebrities in our culture and sometimes lose sight of the positive, powerful influence any human being can have on others. It sounds like Phillip left a positive mark on the world, and though his life ended young, his life was well-lived and certainly worthwhile.
Your post reminds us of life's fragility and how we should not take any moment or any individual for granted because we never know what will happen next in life, good or bad.
Sincerely,
Hardy
Posted on April 4, 2005 9:09 PM
Thanks, Hardy.
I did forget the title when I originally posted but added it within a few minutes.
You can read a real outpouring of love for the Schrum family and Phillip at www.cumbyfuneral.com
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