A Worthy Legacy

A Worthy Legacy - Not for Profit

This is an article published in a non-proit publication

( Many of you may wish to read )

A Legacy, “something handed down,” such as, a million dollar legacy was handed down to the grandson. A legacy of the grandfather's deeds during his lifetime.

This Legacy is a truly remarkable legacy of a young artist and how his Legacy is strengthening art education within a school system.

Daniel was a very sincere and gentle person growing up. He had a very unique ability to “see the whole picture” and “see outside the box.” Daniel was not a grand stander nor was he concerned only about what was good for him. He truly believed that people come in two distinct types, those who feel they come first and those who care about the other person's needs.

Daniel saw during his growing up years many of his classmates who would do anything to win or get what they wanted. He also saw many classmates who really wanted to do well in something but were at the low end of their ability, perhaps because their talent was minimal or some other condition kept them from excelling in their field – maybe it was sports or a certain subject. And, in many cases, he saw these students held in contempt or ridiculed because they didn't meet the standard of others. He himself fit within many of these categories. He was always the smallest in his class and had a difficult time in sports. But no one worked harder than Daniel at what he desired to accomplish.

One of the things he learned early in life was that a person could be great at something and at the same time be a failure at something else. Maybe a person could be a great baseball player but a very poor chess player.

Daniel was the smallest in his class when he went out for Little League Baseball. It was agreed that if he made the team he would stick with it at least for the first season and then he could continue or drop out if he wished. He at least had to give it a good try. Surprisingly, he made the team, as he was very slow and had a difficult time catching the ball. But, the league rules were that every player “must play at least one inning.” And that's what Daniel did, he played the last inning in right field in every game. Of course, this was disappointing to him, but half way through the season the coach realized that Daniel had the best batting average of all the players. When the team needed a “hitter,” the coach would put Daniel in and almost every time he got a hit. But, he still had a problem with catching the ball. The team made it to the championship and Daniel was in right field. It was the last of the last inning, everyone prayed that a hit wouldn’t be go into right field. Daniel's team was leading by one point. The other team was up to bat, they had a runner on base and two outs. Guess what, the batter hit a high ball into right field. Everyone’s heart sank knowing Daniel couldn't catch a ball hit that far and high. But, Daniel ran for this high hard hit ball and caught it! Daniel's team won the championship. You can imagine the accolades and “Hi fives” Daniel received. He was the “Hero” of the game. This just wasn't something Daniel was used to. He was used to getting ridicule from the other players when he didn't catch a ball.

On the way to Pizza for the celebration, Daniel said that he couldn't understand why he was the hero for catching the ball because if he would have dropped the ball, he would have been the worst player on the team and everyone would have hated him. That one instant gave him a perspective for the rest of his life. He strongly believed that sometimes all someone needs is a “break” and just that one “break” can change that person's life. He strongly believed in helping the unfortunate if they were willing to help themselves. Daniel learned that for a whole Little League Baseball season he was “nobody” and was being kept on the team because he had made an agreement to not quit. But, on the last play of that season, he ended up being the “Hero” of the game.

Daniel decided after high school that he wanted to be an artist. He entered a college and because of the high costs, he made up his mind to get a job as well as going to college. With some help from his parents, he received his AA Degree in Computer Animation. He decided to transfer to a university in San Francisco, California for his last two years to get his BFA Degree. The cost was astounding for rent, food, books and materials, bus fare, etc. He got a full time job while attended the university and was getting close to receiving his BFA Degree. To help save money, he moved over to Oakland to save on rent, which were much less than in San Francisco. When he was living in San Francisco, he had to live quite far from the university and work. Travel just one way would be an hour by bus and then walking. In Oakland, the commute was 15 minutes by Bart and he was a block from the university.

One morning, Daniel was walking to the Bart station in Oakland to go to class at the university, he was stalked for two or three blocks and then attacked, shot and killed. It was ruled a “mistaken identity” killing by an Oakland gang member who thought Daniel was someone he'd been in a fight with a week before. Daniel was a gentle and very calm person who had never been in a fight in his short 24 years of life.

This story is about Daniel's Legacy. He was such a unique person, always considering the other person and would give away his sandwich if someone else was hungry. He strongly felt that many students and people just needed some help at times to “make it.” He saw many students who would drop out of the university because they just could not afford to continue their education. Many very gifted, hard working students had to “give up.” One of Daniel's traits was to help others when he had the ability to do so. Daniel had a great ability to think “out side the box” and see the big picture. One of his class assignments will show his “out of the box” thinking.

My Class Assignment

“When I heard of this assignment, I looked all around my house at everything I own for something I own that says the most about me. I could find things that I liked, such as posters, souvenirs from places I've been, or my car. I could explain why I liked these things. I like my car because it's fast and fun to drive. I like this particular action figure because I like the Simpsons. But the more I looked, the more I realized that in a hundred years I don't want to be remembered by the material possessions I owned. I think that if you can be summed up by a physical item, it doesn't say anything good about you. It says you've dedicated your life to something frivolous.

I feel you should be remembered for what you did. You should be remembered for how you changed the world, such as, George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi and Joseph Stalin. Those people were remembered for what they created, the people they helped or the brutal way they oppressed a nation. You can't describe who these people were with some meaningless item. They probably owned something that said something about them, but what they are known for is what they did. So, in one hundred years I want to be remembered the same way, not by my house or car, but by my actions. That being said, the truth is I could nor think of one single thing to write about that could fill up more than a paragraph, so I came up with this ridiculous idea.”

Daniel R. Lynch

This was very much who Daniel was and Daniel has left a Legacy for what he is doing! His life was cut short, so we'll never know what great good to mankind he would have done. But the way he lived during his short life has resulted in an Art Education Program in his memory. Daniel loved the Arts and he witnessed many a fine artist who loved art as much as he did, but for various reasons could not complete their education.

The Daniel Robert Lynch (DRL) Art Education and Scholarship Program is functioning in his memory. It is a 501(c)3 approved program within the Cache Education Foundation and is funded 100% by contributions and a dedicated volunteer art committee to oversee his program. So, Daniel will be remembered in 100 years for how he has helped mankind.

One word about Daniel was that he was an “Exceptional person, a cut above!”

If you would like to know more about Daniel's DRL Art Education and Scholarship Program, please visit http://dansinspiration.com and http://danielsdream.webs.com. Thank you.

By Robert Lynch