Unit5
The colors of fall rustle through the trees on this brisk October morning in1990. Jason and his sister Joanna get into the car to drive to school. Jason is driving this morning. He has just received his permit and is very anxious to start driving on his own. His sister Joanna is a year older than him and is showing him the finer points of driving. Today, she decides that he should drive to school. He takes the wheel and proceeds slowly down the back roads to Massabesic High School in Waterboro, Maine. These are back country roads and the twists and hairpin turns cause Jason to drive slowly and cautiously. He takes each turn with a bit of bravado and his sister teases him that he is being a “wimp” and to speed up a bit. They will be late for school if he doesn't step on it! He presses the gas pedal down and accelerates but finds it difficult to manage the steering wheel properly. His sister tells him to watch the road teasingly but he turns to tell her a smart remark and doesn't see the embankment ahead of him. Just a second of distraction sends the car down the embankment and the car rolls over and over and hits a tree. Jason's head hits the windshield and he is trapped between that and the steering wheel. He can't breathe and is losing consciousness. Joanna tries desperately to free him, but is unable too. She does the only thing possible and that is to escape out of the open window and find help...fast! Joanna reaches the house and calls the ambulance for her brother. They arrive within minutes but Jason is unconscious. They have to extricate him with the “Jaws of Life.” He is taken to the hospital and for three days he lies between life and death. He is breathing only with the assistance of a respirator. He has limited brain activity. The doctors take Joey aside and tell him that Jason will have extensive brain damage and that there is no real hope that Jason would be normal again. Joey must make a decision whether to turn off the respirator and let Jason die in peace. He decides that is the best decision but it is also the most painful one he has ever made in his life.
Jason and Joey shared a unique bond. They did everything together from the time he was born. When they had a free moment, they would be golfing, skiing, traveling and forming a bond of love remains even beyond the boundaries of life and death. It is a relationship between father and son that is wondrous and forever.
Jason lived only sixteen years but he did so much in his short time on Earth. He was an honor student, a musician, a golf fanatic and a lover of life. He had many, many friends and a zest for living that is quite unlike any I have witnessed. He had the kind of boyish charm and he lit up a room when he entered it. He had a beautiful smile and a kind word for everyone. I have never seen him get angry but he was fun loving and intelligent. I was Jason's godmother and when he was baptized in 1974, he had the coolest priest. The priest had long hair and sandals and beads. He seemed to personify the times of the seventies. I still smile when I think about that priest. Jason cried when I held him for the blessing of the water but not for very long. The ceremony only took a few moments but looking down at Jason, I knew then and there that this was indeed a special child. It turned out my impressions were correct. Joe was an enthusiastic and devoted father to Jason and Joanna. He made sure that he spent time with his children. Time seemed of the utmost importance to him as well as having fun. He always enjoyed life and was a bit of a risk taker. He still is. I do not think I will ever think of my brother Joey without smiling and wishing I had his life. Golf was a passion that Jason and Joe shared. It was almost religious. They would even attempt to golf when there was a blanket of snow on the golf course. Jason would just put his mittens on and laugh. “I must golf!” he would say, “I love it!” One year earlier, Jason was pursuing one of his other passions. Skiing. A few of his friends drove up to Sugarloaf Mountain and skied for the whole day. If you know Sugarloaf at all, it is an advanced mountain slope. Jason spent the day schussing and transversing back and forth down the mountain ski trails for many runs up and down the mountain. Sunset was illuminating the snow and there is a group of trees ahead. The sun blinds him for a second and he tries to avoid the trees but misses and falls right onto his ski pole. The ski pole plunges right into his head. There is a gush of blood but Jason recovers enough to make it down the mountain. He drives himself to the emergency room, where the doctors scratch their heads wondering how he did it. There is a strange liquid flowing down the back of his throat. He later finds out that was brain fluid. He was lucky to be alive. The doctors rush to save him and later, when he is in recovery, the doctors tell him that they are amazed at how he is even able to speak to them now. A few days later, Jason is back on the ski slopes like nothing at all happened. He was just that kind of young man. He didn't let one set back make him stop living. He beat the odds and he lived for exactly one extra year. Joe told this story at Jason's funeral. The gift of the “extra” year. His eyes fill up with tears of love and gratitude every time he mentions Jason's name.
Jason's bedroom is a testimony to his personality and his life. He has a collection of model airplanes. The piano still has the sheet music of the song that was Jason's favorite of his time, “Chariots of Fire.” Jason was a very outgoing young man. He was an accomplished student, skier, golfer, sportsman and had many, many friends that loved him. I loved Jason very much. I knew that he was destined for a great life, but that was not to be. Joey and Jason share a bond that defies death.
Today, Joey takes in exchange students and his home is open to any one who has a zest for living. He loves to have fun. He isn't one to sit still and let life pass him by. He wants to help young people reach their potentials. He is active in Junior Achievement and is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He set up a college fund for the study of music and it would be available to any eligible student who shares Jason's philosophy of being outgoing and hardworking. It is called the Jason Hartley Lincourt Music Scholarship Fund. It is his way of carrying on Jason's musical dreams. Jason lays to rest in by a beautiful Mousam River by bed of roses at Notre Dame Catholic Cemetery, Springvale, Maine. Joey visits him each and every day, along with his wife.
