Tragedy and resilience

Like a rock falling into a pond, the fight just before noon on April 7 at Eastridge Mall that claimed the life of 14-year-old Bobby Maher will continue to impact lives for days, weeks and years to come. And there are no words, no thoughts, no outcomes that can change the pain that many now feel.

For Bobby’s parents, Robert and Mary, and for his three brothers, those ripples are a tsunami. For his girlfriend, who spoke bravely at Thursday night’s vigil, she will always be left with what-ifs.

What Bobby’s death has proven is not that all of our children are delinquents or that crime is rampant in Casper, but that we are one community.

We know that together, we will go forward.

Across Casper, there has been an outpouring of grief and generosity. Through the actions of individuals and businesses, collections have been taken. An online GoFundMe campaign for the Maher family shattered its $10,000 goal in just four hours and, on Friday morning, raced towards the $50,000 mark. Impromptu memorials have sprouted around town and cars bear hearts in blue, Bobby’s favorite color.

As the sun set Thursday, hundreds of residents gathered in person and virtually at Casper’s David Street Station to mourn Bobby. As the crowd grew, children could be seen doing cartwheels, chasing each other, jumping to touch balloons bearing hand-written expressions of grief and throwing footballs amidst the growing sea of blue.

In a small way, their simple play expresses our resilience, that Casper is already healing.

As many still attempt to understand what happened, some things are clear. On April 8, speaking before the Natrona County Board of Education, Rev. Dee Lundberg explained the road we must travel together.

“For the victim for sure, and the perpetrators, we must pledge to be better models of how to do community,” she said. “How to get along, manage our differences, work together rather than seek division or worse yet seek to harm those who … who we don’t like. We can’t teach with just words. We must be models as parents, teachers and leaders.”

On Thursday night, Casper modeled how to be a community. With open hearts — blue ones, that is — we came together.

Together, we can offer the support that Bobby’s parents, classmates, teammates and friends need. Together, we can work to ensure that our children spend their time in play, not sadness. Together, we can seek to be the role models our children need.

Together, we can remember Bobby’s laughter. And together, we can help our children laugh, not cry.

Casper Star-Tribune

April 13