"I'm sure that everyone had a great time dancing, listening to the music, and talking, but believe it or not, there's a certain reason for us being here. We're here to remember an extraordinary young woman known as Madison Gray.
"Some of her friends called her Maddie or Mad, or just plain Madison. No matter what she was addressed as, one thought always comes to mind whenever her name is mentioned: she was an angel. From the first day that I knew Madison, which was way back in the day, Kindergarten that is, I knew she was someone special. On that first day, when I stumbled helplessly into the expansive room that was to be my classroom for nine months, she was the first one to come up and greet me. I remember it clearly, she invited me to play with her blocks in the corner. Even back then, she had that famous, open-lipped smile. I knew right then that she was one of a kind.
"That wasn't the only reason that she was special. As we grew older, things became much more complex than just playing with blocks. Madison was always doing something. She was either taking gymnastics, playing her piano, swinging her hardest in softball, or anything. You name it, Madison was doing it. That girl never got tangled up into the petty jealousies and catfights that other girls our age had. She always had that smile and a kind word to offer. She was always there to offer her support even when you knew things weren't going so good for her in her own life. She was our rock.
"And so we continued to grow older, and many of us changed. We grew into short tempers, explosive angers, and sharp put-downs. We began thinking some people weren't as important as others, that whatever we did was OK, no matter what the consequences were. Madison never did. If anything, her gentleness and support grew. She knew that we were going thorough tough times with all of our hormones raging throughout our body. Madison felt the same things in her life, but she was in so much more control. She was always there to help us gain back that control when we lost it, which was quite often. She was always there to help, because that's what she did best. Madison Gray was dedicated to helping others. I remember a countless number of holidays each year in which Madison would head down to the homeless shelter or any volunteer organization to offer her services. She didn't do it for money. She did it for the pure joy that she had from putting a smile on someone's face, for making someone just a little bit happier when there was so much to be sad about.
"Then came that fateful day: New Year's Eve, 1999. We were all heading to a party at the Arboretum. Her mother was driving us there. It was the perfect night: a violet-black night sky lit up with millions of tiny stars. Everything seemed to be so perfect. Then it happened.
Christian paused a minute and took a deep breath before continuing. "None of us saw it coming. We were just laughing and chatting merrily when out of nowhere we saw these huge headlights. There was this enormous truck that was swerving back and forth on this road that was going to intersect with the one we were on. We were at a speed where we couldn't stop in time, and both we and the truck arrived at the intersection at the same time. The truck slammed into the passenger side. Madison was killed instantly. There was no time to say goodbye, there was no time to say thank you. There was no time. Madison was killed by a young man who had gotten drunk at another New Year's Eve party. The man...that man survived with only a few minor injuries, but Madison's life was destroyed. And folks, I know you don't like to be preached to, but please take from this instance that if you're drunk, get a sober friend to take you home. And if you're not drunk but you know someone is, give them a ride home or encourage them to stay where they are. You don't want some innocent young girl much like Madison was to be killed because of your ignorance and mistake. In honor of Madison, with the help of Midway Prep administrators and several Midway businesses, we're setting up the Madison Fund. This fund goes to the millions of children much like the ones Madison helped at the shelters that aren't as fortunate as you and I are. I encourage you all to contribute, because it would be the ultimate tribute to the memory of a fantastic young woman. And I'm sure that Madison, up in Heaven, is smiling down on us now and, even in death, is continuing to support us during our tough times.
Christian paused again, a tear rolling swiftly down his cheek. Many of the faces in the audience mirrored his own. He continued on, "So we need to remember the real reason that we're having this ball tonight. We're here to remember a golden-haired, brown-eyed, glasses-sporting young woman with a heart of gold. Madison...she...she was a true gift from God. I told you that I suspected it before, but now, on this day one year later, I know it's true: Madison is an angel," Christian choked up. Tears flowed down his cheeks openly. Shannon went up on the platform and gave him a hug, tears dampening her own cheek. Grasping Shannon's hand tightly, he finally continued on. "Heaven truly gained someone special when Madison arrived."
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