The Colwell family are among our closest friends. We went on trips together, we raised our children together, we laughed together, and now we cry together. We cry together, with an intensity that these good people, that no people should ever have to experience in their lives.

Oh, there are headlines, and there will continue to be headlines. Everybody loves a story. The media loves to paint a picture to stir emotion, create drama, and stoke interest. "Drug deal gone bad," "Drug deal gone sour," "Argument over marijuana." Permit me to set the record straight, before one unknowing person who did not know Andrew or his family makes an assumption that is absurd - an assumption that a sociopathic animal and a boy who made a mistake should be mentioned in the same breath.

I refuse to allow this fine boy's memory to be tainted. And based on the incredible show of support, the turnout at St. Mary's and the funeral home, the community is refusing to allow this to happen. It seemed like our entire town filed through that funeral home, hugged Chris, Christine and Amanda, and forever changed those headlines. I'm proud of Mansfield and proud of our community.

This is so tragic to many of us because a young man of so much promise was taken away from us. Let's not lose sight of why this hits home for many of us so closely, even those who did not know Andrew well.. Many of us have teenagers who have done foolish things. Heck, many of us from our generation have done foolish things ourselves, whether in high school, or in college. We can relate, can't we? If you are perhaps in your 40s or 50s, look at your past. What did you do that would cause you to look back and laugh, and say "wow, I was nuts, I can't believe I did that" or "yeah, we sure had some wild times back then." I know I did, but I lived to tell the tales when I have a reunion with some old buddies. I simply had the opportunity to grow up. Andrew Colwell will never be able to tell those stories. The opportunity was taken away from him.

We have gone out to dinner many weekends with Chris and Christine. Many nights were cut short as Christine wanted to be home to make sure Andrew, or before that Amanda, their older child, was home and OK. Christine seemed to have developed the fine skill of "texting" that many of our generation have not mastered. She was always concerned about where her kids were, what they were doing. She was always "parenting." If she had an inkling that Andrew was doing something perhaps he shouldn't be doing, she would cut short whatever plans we had and say "I need to check on Andrew." Andrew was not a perfect child. Show of hands please, who has a perfect child? Chris and I took the kids skiing (snowboarding, of course, for Andrew) on many occasions. My son Ben would ski, Andrew would snowboard. Andrew would disappear to some terrain park, leaving our little group on the slope, despite his dad's warnings to "stick together." This simply was a child with a spirit and a sense of adventure. This spirit was both Andrew's charm and strength, and perhaps ultimately his tragic flaw. With maturity, this spirit would have been fine-tuned, and become an asset in his life, and define who he was, perhaps in the business world, or as an engineer like his father...we shall never know.

These fine people, the Colwells lost a son to a murderer. A disturbed individual who some years ago, punched my son in the head unprovoked in the 8th grade. A murderer who was suspended off the bus for bringing knife to school. This was the same kid who dropped out of school. The Colwells are concerned about the "legacy" of Andrew, how he will be remembered. There may be a trial, and the murderer may speak and spin tale. The defense attorney will do his job, creating a fine image for his "troubled" client, "got his GED... first major offense... an argument over drugs and a crime of passion, give him a break." The deceased do not get a chance to tell their story to the media do they?

So, do Chris, Christine and Amanda Colwell need to be concerned about the legacy of Andrew, their son, their brother. I think not. We are too good a community to let that happen. We are too good friends, family and acquaintances to let that happen. Our Andrew was too nice a young man for us to allow a second crime.

When I watched the town parade into that funeral home, and into that church, I realized my concerns were unfounded. I was proud of this town, Mansfield, where I live. I saw tough high schools boys, tears rolling down their eyes, many who barely knew Andrew. I saw stoic, battle-hardened parents, who can relate to the teenage struggles, broken down in grief. I saw virtually everyone I knew in this town crying at the loss of one of our own. A bright, carefree, well brought up kid who was fooling around and touched a flame and was burned. The same flame that many of us have touched, yet managed to pass through our hands through, unscathed. This should be the memory of Andrew Colwell, a fine young man, no different than any of us.

Let there be no doubt.

RICH COLEMAN lives in Mansfield.