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As the helium-filled, colored balloons analogically rose to the heavens on that chilly night, the nightmare still lingered for anyone who had come in contact with Mark Donahue. November 5, two years ago, is a night that will never make sense. There is no justification, no tragedy, no reason. Just a life cut short by the despicable act of a lunatic thug.
Mark Donahue cannot be forgotten. His soul, his character, his life should always be remembered and passed down generation to generation. Mark Donahue was a humanitarian, truly a good person in every sense of the word. Sometimes the only justification is Mark Donahue did not belong in such a disgusting world. He was too good for our society.
The jury in Donahue’s case also knew this. Anyone that does not know about Mark Donahue’s character just has to ask someone who knew him. Donahue was a star at Brookside Christian High School. A quarterback, Mark’s heart helped carry his eighteen-man roster to many upset victories over teams with twice as many players and enrollment. He was exceptional in basketball and a good student. That is not what made Mark. What made him was his commitment to anyone that knew him. Donahue never judged or put people in a box. He was friends with everyone in his high school. He treated the whole student body as his best friend, no matter the social status. Donahue respected each human being he crossed paths with and we all fell in love with him for that.
In this horrific tragedy there was some sense of rationalism. This was in large part due to the jury in Donahue’s case. The defense lied; they tried to paint Mark Donahue as the aggressor, a punk kid who was asking for trouble. They were horrible to Mark. They tried to manipulate and flat out lie. The jury did not buy it. It was the first time this insanity had a little sense. The jury gave a little hope in a hopeless act of atrocity. Maybe justice does prevail but not even that is good enough. Nothing will ever bring Mark back.
Most Pacific students are out of towners and do not have an understanding of Stockton. This is not our town; we know nothing about this town. We are not educated on the facts that this town is dangerous and has an evil aroma in the air. Mark Donahue was from Stockton. If this could happen to him, it could happen to anyone. It was chance, a person at the wrong place at the wrong time. Mark Donahue was big and strong. If anyone could handle themselves in any situation, it would be Mark. But he never even had that opportunity. Donahue got stabbed while walking into Shakers on Country Club Road. Shakers’ name has now been changed to Jimmies Place, in some sort of sick slap in the face way of hiding what happened on November 5th, two years ago.
It was the jury that came up with the idea of the memorial services to Mark. At 11:30 and past midnight, mourners with lit candles and rivers of tears joined the jury at the location where Mark was stabbed. The only comfortable thought at the memorial was that the jury had enough guts and character to make the right decision. That was the least they could do for Mark and the Donahue family. The jury for one split second brought pride in the idea of being human again until the eyes wandered to the bar and the asphalt road in which Mark lay dying two years ago. There is no sense, no reason, just anger and sorrow, as the eyes would not let go of the hole in the wall bar in some shady neighborhood. Donahue was working on getting his degree at San Jose State. He had many close friends attending the University of the Pacific. He was on his way to doing good things in his life. It was all cut too short for no reason, no sense. Donahue never had a chance. It is not fair. Life is not fair; he had such an incredible upside. It does not make sense. He was a good kid, a great kid with a bigger than ordinary heart. He served his community and his friends. Mark was just an amazing human being. Being in his presence made you feel important. He made you feel good about yourself, about being human. There is no lesson to be learned, no justification. What happened to Mark Donahue does not make sense and is a lesson learned that life just does not make sense. Mark Donahue can not be forgotten. There is already too much tragedy in this world. He was what is good about humanity.
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