His Name Was Elbert Dunn

I remember him well. Tall, thin, clean cut with a wave of light brown hair falling on this forehead. He and the pretty young girl came in the store and were immediately likeable. It was a slow Saturday, early Spring and the shop was not busy. I remember sitting with them, helping them pick out the right style and cut of tuxedo, the color combination of a cummerbund and tie to match her dress. He was a cut-up kind of guy, the class clown, Mr. Charm, it was a fun meeting. My friend Robin and I were working that day, we spent more time with the two of them than we usually did, given the slow day and the likability of the young couple. They were from a small town, outside of our city, prom was coming, graduation time and life, probably as they imagined, together, was just starting.

Oh, and did I mention he had an odd name? It wasn't Tom or George or Michael, it was Elbert. Elbert - such a ridiculous sounding name for such a well rounded, happy, funny guy. After writing all his information down on the order form, measuring him for the size of shirt, pants, and coat and probably some final jokes, we said goodbye to him and his girl.

I worked in that shop for almost six years. There weren't many people in town, who needed a tuxedo that we didn't fill the order and I remember very few of them sitting here almost thirty years later, but I remember Elbert Dunn. Why, well, for all of the above reasons, he was kind and funny and we invested in his world for a short time, but also because we never got to see him again. I really can't remember the exact details, if it happened prom night, or graduation night or somewhere in between...but at some point, Elbert Dunn got behind the wheel of a car for the last time, and at some point on that ride, the young, funny, smart guy, lost his life.

I think we learned of it when the tuxedo came back, or maybe it was weeks after in the paper...I honestly don't know - but I do remember the sadness that crept into my heart when I heard. It was such a waste, the pain of that young girlfriend, his friends, his parents and family, it must have been a devastating loss for them. I remember my friend Robin and I being devastated and we only knew him for an afternoon. But we had worked for a week to make him look like a star on his big night. We had washed and ironed his shirt, hemmed and pressed the pants, cleaned the coat and shined the shoes. Well, most probably it was Joel or David that shined the shoes and probably either one of them that bagged the whole suit and hung it on the rack, but we worked as a team, all of us, to make that young man's night a fun reality. We had invested in his life...and now it was gone.

Seems to happen every year doesn't it? News of proms, parties, and graduations of high school students fill the news and papers and now the Internet. Young, smart, promising lives are out and about, shown off, celebrated. And it seems every year, there is news of at least one, sadly sometimes more, of these young people losing their life or becoming injured. It makes me so sad.
A friend sent an email out on Sunday asking for prayers for her niece, who having graduated on Friday night, was involved in a boat crash on Saturday and was in hospital with a head injury. Thankfully, it seems this young girl will make a recovery and go on to enjoy that long life and promise that was hers to claim on Friday as she walked across a stage and received her diploma. I am praying for her and would love it if you would as well. Her name is Hannah.

Hearing her story, reminded me as I am every time I hear something like it, of that young man, who today would be nearing forty, probably married, with children, a job and friends. He touched my world. His name was Elbert Dunn.