I met Craig on July 4th. I came to Wyview looking for anything to do on the fourth of July. Anything but be alone. He was working the desk at Wyview, and honestly I thought he was interesting. Although he had a hook instead of a hand, that wasn't the only thing that helped me introduce myself to him. I'm not sure what it was about him; he had inner character that I wanted to know more about. I tentatively asked him how he had lost his hand, and he asked me if I had a weak stomach. Since I haven't so far, he said that it would be easier to show me than to explain it. After seeing the pictures, his explanation came anyway.
I wasn't as focused on the story of how he lost his hand as to how he reacted to people asking about it, and the attitude with which he responded. He was a tiny bit ironic, but as he could tell that I was listening and wasn't giving my own sad story, he was a little more open than I would have expected. To be fully honest, I found the experience fascinating.
The next thirty minutes or hour, we bonded over videos of amputees break-dancing and a young man playing Pachel Bell's Cannon on electric guitar. Along with this, I watched a few of his YouTube videos explaining how to open jars and tie shows one-handed, and helped to teach him how to play Hearts on computer, and strategies involved. Even though he was funny sometimes,
I got a chance to see a real, serious side of him. He seemed to have maturity beyond what I see in most BYU guys. Like he had been through something real, and had depth that was something that I could connect to. Had I had the chance, I would have asked him out. Finding out about his death, less than twenty-four hours after I'd met him and been flirting, was like a punch to the stomach. I found out the next Monday, and felt hollow.
However, something that keeps coming back to me is how would I spend my last night on earth with someone. He saw fireworks, flirted with a girl, joked, ate Otter Pops, and probably had no idea what was coming up within hours. He made new friends even in a short space of time before the next day. The last time I saw him was midnight, early July 5th, 2008. He was all I could talk about the next day. I only knew him for four hours, but he made a lasting impression on me.
--Anonymous
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Craig was my first counselor at EFY just last year. He had the most amazing attitude. Just being around him for a couple minutes had everyone laughing and smiling. I remember one night that we had a dance, he asked me if I would like to dance. I was excited and nervous at the same time. He began to do the swing with me. It was kind of complicated but, surprisingly, so much easier because I only had to use one hand! Pretty soon, people formed a circle around us. That was one of the most memorable moments I had at EFY. I'm so thankful that I got to dance with him and get to know him. He's is an amazing man and will be missed very much.
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