I got the news tonight that Ben Edelson passed away some time in the last couple of days. Ben was a friend during my high-school years (actually only my senior year, 1996), a fellow Quick Recall teammate, fellow Downtown YMCA alarm-tripper and fellow guy named Ben. He was and still is the nicest genius (certifiable!) I ever knew. That was the thing about Ben — he was easily the smartest guy I’ve ever met, and yet despite all of the scholastic triumph that was always lumped (deservedly) upon him, he was a respectful friend to many. That is what I loved, and I think the thing everyone loved about Ben. He was incredibly smart (1600 on his SATs, winner of the 2000 Hoopes Prize for Undergraduate thesis while at Harvard), but despite his educational superlatives he was engaging, funny, filthy and always eager to please. I rarely saw him in a bad mood and he hardly had an enemy. As Hunter put it: “He’s the guy you’re supposed to hate, but can’t help loving”.

He went to Harvard after high-school and then went to CalTech, and received a number of accolades there, and occassionally we’d hear reports from the west coast of Edelson and his adventures. The last time I saw him was probably well over a year ago, but when we did meet it was always a good time. He was, to many of those who knew him, a true inspiration not only scholastically but personally. He was always interested in not only knowing more about the world around him, but the people around him as well. He was truly an independent in my book, one that I’ll never forget.

Ben, where-ever you are, find me out again someday.

update: Julie Hoover’s Livejournal Entry

further update:Gary Spillman’s blog entry for Ben Edelson

funeral arraignments: Meyer Funeral Home (see Ben’s obit here). Funeral services will be held Friday, December 10th, at 11:30 a.m. with interment following in Cave Hill Cemetery – Temple Shalom section. Visitation will begin after 10:30 a.m. Friday. (Meyer Funeral Home, 1338 Ellison Avenue, Louisville KY 40204, 502.458.9569). Map here.

I’ll tell you with considerable pride that I haven’t given more than the compulsory two minutes of my attention to the Laci Peterson case. It really wasn’t a conscious decision so much as that is how little I watch network news and read the local paper. If it were a conscious decision to avoid this stuff, it’d probably have been more like a couple hours of my life wasted on a murder (notice I didn’t say “alleged”) way across the country. As a side note to my lack of awareness on this case: NPR’s search engine shows that they have only TWO articles containing the term “Laci”, as compared to the some 30 articles dealing with the “Artic National Wildlife Refuge”. I think that explains it pretty well.

Further, Louisville has had a bona-fide rash of murders in it’s own right the last couple of weeks. At least seven within the last week, totalling some 60 for the year, a figure that far outweighs the 2 people killed by Scott Peterson both in number and personal relevance.

As I heard the father of the most recently slain boy (17-year-old Johnathan Watson) in Louisville say this morning (paraphrased): “I just want everyone with the guns to know that, yeah, you’re the big men today — but know this — you didn’t just kill a boy, you killed a whole family.” So, while the death of Laci Peterson and their unborn child is certainly tragic and reprehensible, we’ve got 60 families right here in town that could use a little more attention.