10/09/02

Rebecca Steinbach loved music. She especially loved Nirvana, and a lot of the bands that most 14-year-olds love. Punk rock was a particular favorite. She was starting to go to more concerts as she got older, sometimes with my daughter Kate, or with Jessica or one of her other many friends.

In fact, Rebecca was allowed quite a bit of freedom for someone just shy of her 15th birthday. Her father, long since vanished, was not a factor in her upbringing. Her mother gave her free rein, up to a point, but like most caring parents, she worried about Rebecca's safety. Tall, gangly and seemingly carefree, Rebecca liked to walk down La Vista Road in her Tucker neighborhood to visit people that she knew.

The night of the accident, Rebecca had been out with Kate. They had dinner at Mellow Mushroom, and went to Best Buy to look at CDs. Kate was going to spend the night at Rebecca's house, and after they got dropped off, the two girls went to see a couple of other Tucker High School kids down the street. It was getting late, well after ten and already dark when a policeman, late for work, came speeding down La Vista in his Dodge SUV. He missed Kate and another boy by inches, then ploughed into Rebecca and sent her flying. After she landed on the ground, face down, she tried to lift her head slightly, and then slowly put it back down.

Rebecca was in a coma for a week, and the doctors, and her friends, thought there was hope for her. There was even talk of plans for her rehabilitation. Kate and the others put together a "Becca Bucket" which had a picture of Kurt Cobain on it and was full of little gifts and trinkets that they would give her once they were allowed into the intensive care unit. They never got to deliver it. On June 19th, Rebecca slipped away. The officer who hit her with his truck, Donald Berry, was not charged, although vehicular homicide is a common indictment in these cases, and the Police Department remains circumspect about the entire incident.

The burial took place on a cloudy Saturday morning, with her family and friends gathered around, and two fellow students sang a song they had written for her. Nice things were said and tears were shed. Amy Ray, Rebecca's cousin, was also there. The two were close, and often talked of the passion for music that they shared.

A garden in Tucker is being constructed in memory of this gentle soul. A benefit concert will be held to raise funds, and Ray will bring her fellow Indigo Girl, Emily Saliers, to sing a few tunes. The rest of the line-up consists of ska-punk-with-a-horn-section band Treephort, Identity Crisis (emo-core), Organized Confusion (the name says it all), local pop-punk faves A Small Victory and Birmingham's up-and-coming rockers Nineteen Forty-Five. This is the kind of evening Rebecca would have loved.

"Rebecca's Garden: A Benefit Concert" will be held on Saturday, October 19th, 2002 at the TFUMC Activities Center, 4315 Church St, Tucker GA.30084. Tickets are $10 at the door, which opens at 5.30pm.