Managing Editor
I’m not exactly sure how I became friends with Danny Meyering, but I’m certainly glad I did.
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| Carlton Webster Junior High School in Henrietta, New York is where Ed Pierce went to school from 1966 to 1968. COURTESY PHOTO |
Danny Meyering was a year older than I was and he was always laughing and joking whenever I passed by him in the school hallways. One day in November 1966, Danny and I were assigned to spot other students jumping on the trampoline during gym class. Our job was to stand guard and prevent students from landing awkwardly and bouncing off the edge of the trampoline and injuring themselves.
While doing that he asked who my favorite football player was and when I told him it was Joe Namath, Danny grinned and said, “Mine too.” As the school year went on, he invited me to sit with him and some of his other friends at a junior high basketball game over the Christmas break and I had a blast.
One day over the holidays, Danny walked to my house and my mother made us some lunch. He brought some Marvel comic books with him and after eating, we sat at the kitchen table reading them.
In our first week back to school in January 1967, I noticed a poster outside the school library announcing tryouts for that spring’s school musical “Finnian’s Rainbow.” I thought it would be fun to audition and told all my friends, including Danny, that I was going to try out for the cast. Several classmates told me that afterschool activities were a waste of time, and that I would never be chosen for a part in the musical.
The only one who thought I could possibly win a role was Danny and he took the time to listen to me when I sang my audition song for him “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” from “Finnian’s Rainbow.” He smiled and gave me a thumbs up even though I was horrible.
On the Friday afternoon of the audition, I was very nervous. Waiting backstage, I was shaking and could barely stand. When my name was called, I summoned my courage and walked out into the spotlight to perform the song for the musical’s director.
It didn’t go well. My voice cracked several times during the song, and I also forgot some of the lyrics. Without a doubt, my audition was one huge disaster, and I wasn’t selected for the cast of “Finnian’s Rainbow” when the list was posted on the auditorium door on Monday.
At lunchtime, I sat in the school cafeteria with Danny, and he noticed that I was feeling dejected about not getting the part. He told me that it really didn’t matter and at least I had tried. His comment made me feel better and helped me get over the disappointment I was feeling for flubbing my audition.
A week or so later in January 1967, a huge snowstorm hit the area, and the temperature hovered near zero. Danny decided to go ice skating at the town park on a school night and walked there with a couple of his other friends. On the way home, a driver ran over them with a car and left the scene. Danny was killed and police were searching for the hit-and-run driver.
The next day at school was terribly sad once the word got out about what had happened. It was like everyone who knew Danny was bewildered and shocked and was trying to come to terms with his senseless death. He was the first friend I had known who had died and it left me angry and confused.
A 18-year-old area resident called police and told them she thought she had hit something when she noticed a crack in her windshield. She was arrested by the police and charged with hit and run. Eventually her charges were reduced to leaving the scene of an accident.
Eventually that school year ended, and another started. My classmates and I moved on to 10th grade at Rush Henrietta High School. Danny’s memory and what had happened to him seemed to fade away for many.
Through the years I have thought about him and wondered what he would be doing today or if he would have had a family of his own if he had lived.
I never again attempted to audition for a school musical and instead, I stuck with performing with the school’s chorus. One of Danny’s friends that he introduced me to, Nick Vecchioli, has remained my friend for more than 59 years now.
The passing of time has not diminished my recollection of Danny’s kindness to me all those years ago and although I only knew him for a short time, I appreciated him for always being positive and a true friend, especially when I needed it most. <
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