“She gave us so much to think about.”
By Sallie Twentyman

So many thoughts and feelings have run through me in this past week, but one image keeps coming back to me—the Jessica that I’ll remember the rest of my life.

The image is of Jessica at about 9 or 10 years old, when she and my daughter Liz were just getting launched in rec league basketball. Even then, Jessica had an intensity that made her stand out on the court. You couldn’t help but watch her, whether she was sitting on the bench or driving toward the basket with her pigtails flying. She expressed her emotions in her every move, from the way she tied her shoelaces to the way she walked away in frustration when she missed an easy shot or got called for a foul.

In watching Jessie on the court, you knew that she lived like this everywhere she went, packing the most she could into every minute of her life. In just 19 short years, she lived more than many people live in a lifetime.

We grieve that she has been taken away from us, but, in her life, she gave us so much to think about. Over the coming weeks and months, let us all try to lift ourselves from grief to realize how fortunate we were to know her.
 

“You are forever in my heart.”
By Dana Anaman

Dana will always be remembered in my heart. I worked with Dana at Slade's in Tysons Corner. I remember when I trained her, I was so happy to meet her because she was the first "other" Dana that I had actually known.

While working together we got really close, and we became good friends. Dana was the nicest person with a great sense of humor. I remember hearing about Spain from her; I remember saying goodbye the day before I left for school. The fact is, when I received the news about Dana, I couldn't breathe.

During my fall break, Dana too came home. I talked to her on the phone and I asked her to come into work because "I knew she wanted to work with me..." and she came in. Who knew that would be the last time I would talk to her or see her. Just a few days before the accident, I was telling another friend I have at ECU, that I had a friend there and that he should meet her. Just two days before.

I didn't get to attend the funeral. I never got to say goodbye; you rarely do. I just wanted to say that both girls will always be remembered. Dana, you are forever in my heart. I miss you, D. (White Dana - inside Slade's joke)
 

"She always had a smile for me."
By Kristen Clingenpeel

I played basketball with Jessica quite a few years ago. Her father was our coach. I remember how happy she was, and how nice she was to everyone. I didn't go to Mason, but I live in the Falls Church area and I would see her around from time to time, and she always had a smile for me. Despite the fact that we were never really good friends, it is still hard to accept that someone so young and so incredible could be gone. I never knew Dana; however, if she was friends with Jess, I am sure she was just as good of a person. My heart goes out to both families.
 

'Tragedy inches closer to all of us'
By David Horsey

When I first got into journalism, the tales of pain and cruelty that fill the pages of newspapers were abstract reports from a world I did not know. 

My lack of empathy had more to do with my youth than with professional detachment. Once I became a father, I was touched in a new way by every story of a grieving parent staggering through a war-ravaged city or pacing at the scene of a terrible crime.

I could understand the depth of their loss; I had children of my own.

And, these days, it seems that tragedy is inching closer to us all.

Monday night, I was at home when my mother called to say there had been a shooting in Falls Church, Va. I immediately tuned in to MSNBC. There, on the screen, were pictures of a shopping center within walking distance of the house where my wife and children and I lived during my stint in the Hearst Newspapers Washington, D.C., Bureau. In fact, the very television I was watching had been purchased at the electronics store not far from the Home Depot where a sniper had killed a woman as she and her husband loaded packages into their car.

Immediately, I worried that the victimized couple might be people I knew. The first two I thought of were Dennis and Kathy Szymanski, our wonderful neighbors on Hillwood Avenue.

The next morning, my wife, Nole Ann, called back to Falls Church. We were relieved to learn the victim was no one familiar and then felt a twinge of guilt for our relief. We may not have known her, but the woman who died was someone's wife, someone's friend, someone's child, someone's mother.

That evening I got a call at home from Toni Pugel, a Seattle friend we were expecting to come over for Nole Ann's quilting group. While driving home from crew practice at Green Lake, Toni's 17-year-old daughter, Annie, had gotten into an automobile accident. Only her car was damaged; Annie was fine. Still, Toni did not want to come to our house until her daughter was safe at home.

Since it was close, I drove over to see if Annie needed help. When I got there, she was busy chatting with the police and the woman who had caused the accident. Confident and cheery as always, she clearly didn't need my assistance.

I had an urge to tell Toni that we moms and dads worry too much. Our children grow up. They learn to handle life themselves. After trying to soften every fall and dry every tear from the time they are born, a parent has to learn to relax and let go.

It was an easy thought to have on a beautiful, dry night in Seattle. The sunset was glorious, the air crisp with autumn and danger seemed far away.

On that night, danger was 3,000 miles to the east but not far away at all.

Wednesday morning a call came from Falls Church. There had been an accident. Two 18-year-old girls were driving back to college at East Carolina University on a rain-soaked Interstate 95. The driver swerved to avoid a deer. The car struck a guardrail and spun into the path of a big tractor-trailer rig. Both young women were killed; Dana Wood and a girl named Jessica. Both had been in my son Daniel's sixth-grade class.

Jessica I knew well; she was the daughter of the neighbors we'd been so worried about two nights before, Dennis and Kathy Szymanski.

The news will be in the weekly paper in Falls Church. It might even get a paragraph deep in the pages of The Washington Post. But any story will miss a million memories.

They won't have the picture that's in my mind right now: It's the big snowfall of 1996. Jessica and Daniel have spent hours digging a tunnel through a big pile of snow with several of their friends. It's dark outside now but they've got flashlights. They're giggling inside that snow cave and having the time of their lives.

Jessica and Daniel were 11 years old, caught up in the last giddy days of childhood before the rush of adolescence. It wouldn't be until we returned to Seattle that Daniel would admit to the crush he had on that cute, energetic girl next door.

That's the kind of detail the news cannot carry, but we all know that in every tragic story those wisps of life are present in abundance

What could the husband of the woman killed by the sniper tell us about the last time he kissed her?

Consider the American Marine gunned down Oct. 8 in Kuwait. Could his parents describe their boy's first swing at a baseball or the morning he marched off to kindergarten?

Think back to the wedding party in Afghanistan mistakenly bombed by American fighter planes. If the survivors could speak through their rage and grief, what dear memories might they share?

Is loss easier to cope with when your tragedy is part of a big news story? Does it give death meaning? Is it helpful to have an enemy to accuse, a killer to hate? Somehow, I doubt it.

Tragic death is no harder and no easier when there is nothing to blame but fatal circumstance -- a deer, a wet highway, a two-ton truck. From the feeling in my gut right now, I think I can comprehend the enormity of the sorrow such events bring. What I cannot comprehend is how a person ever gets over it.

There are no words of comfort that can adequately explain. There are no platitudes -- like the absurd contention that, perhaps, it is all God's will -- that do not ring hollow. There is only the wish that, in the loved one's last moments, there might have been some guardian angel kneeling close to soften the fall.

The tragedies we journalists report are relentless and numbing. It is only when we stop to consider a single one of them that we grasp how awful these stories are and how human and how sad. 

There was a sweet young woman named Jessica. I knew her and, suddenly, she is gone.

And there is nothing to do but hold close someone I love and weep.

David Horsey is an editorial cartoonist, columnist and member of the Editorial Board for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. This article is reprinted courtesy of the author, and first appeared in the Post-Intelligencer on Sunday, October 20, 2002.
 

"I can't imagine a better quality in a person."
By Juliana Pearson

Our junior and senior years, Dana and I were both in Señorita Biggers TA. In Mason’s 2002 yearbook, there’s a picture of Maria Biggers and four of us seniors. Dana, her arms around two of her best friends, glows. Her smile really lights up the picture.

This past year in TA, I loved to hear about Dana’s adventures in Spain. When I entered Señorita Biggers’ room, I didn’t know what new perspectives I might gain into Spanish culture, or what new story of her travels Dana would tell, always enthusiastically and with a smile on her face. These cultural tidbits, these insights, that Dana brought back from Spain to Señorita Biggers’ Spanish classroom never failed to delight and excite me. Several times, Dana brought back Spanish music to play in TA or in our IB Spanish class, eager to share it with us. I delighted too in her enthusiasm in going to Toulouse or celebrating with the soccer team.

Dana was not only excited to share her joy, but also to celebrate and support others. When members of our TA celebrated an achievement, she offered a hearty conglatuations. If they were going through a hard time, she had words of encouragement. I can’t imagine a better quality in a person. Thanks, Dana.
 

'Two Beautiful Girls'
By Caroline Habicht 

These two girls, Jessica Szymanski and Dana Wood, are two people I will never forget. Though I barely knew Dana, besides the fact that she was on the varsity soccer team, she still always listened to what I had to say during Key Club meetings with a look of genuine interest, and would always smile at me as we passed each other in the hallways. I hear stories now of what a great person she was, how kind and friendly she was to all, and I wish I had somehow known her better. But though it sounds silly now, in some ways I was always intimidated by her, as I was by many of last year's seniors - she was beautiful, popular, smart, why would she ever talk to me? However, now I know that though I didn't know her well, the lives she touched will remain changed forever. 

I knew Jessica better. When I first came to Mason in my sophomore year a little over two years ago, I was placed in Mr. Spiridopolous' (Spiro's) TA, where Jessica and I were the only two girls. Spiro asked Jess to "watch out for me" since I was new, and she really made me feel welcome on my first day at this new school, asking me questions and answering anything I asked her. We then talked in the hallways, or would wave as we passed each other between classes. Every so often, after school or during TA we would catch up on what had been going on in each other's lives, and laugh over a story we shared about a mutual friend. However, we were more acquaintances than anything, I suppose. But whenever we would talk, Jessica made me feel like we were great friends. She would smile and nod, and we would share happenings in our lives as if we had always known each other. I was sad to see her graduate last year, but as I gave her a hug and congratulated her after the ceremony, I felt we would see each other again. 

I did see her just two or three weeks ago at the Powderpuff game on the Friday before Homecoming. We talked about how school was going, how she liked East Carolina, and what schools I was looking at. It was like she had never left. I still expect to see her at school on Monday mornings. She was a good friend to all, and truly, her smile could brighten anyone's day. But Jess will never be dead to those who knew her, she will live on in their memory. Jessica was a beautiful, talented, funny girl who will be greatly missed by the entire community. The world is a poorer place for having lost her. My thoughts and prayers are with her family, as well as with the Wood family.  May God help us all through this tragedy. 
 

'Roses and Violets'
By Zoe Adkins 

Roses are red 
Violets are blue 
We’re all thinking of you 
The way you made us smile 
When we were feeling down 
The way your eyes 
Were bright with happiness, 
And you never wore a frown 
The way you made life easier 
For all your loving friends 
Because they knew you cared 
Till the very end 

Roses are red 
Violets are blue 
This is how I will remember you 
When I look into the sky 
I will see the shining stars 
And picture them 
As you bright, twinkling eyes 
That shine love and happiness 
Down from heaven through out the skies 
Then when I look all around me 
I see your family and friends 
All smiling in remembrance 
Of your loving, caring smile till the end 
And all the love and happiness 
Of the people you meant so much to 
Reflects on how you changed their lives 
Till the end of time through and through 

Roses are red 
Violets are blue 
We shall never forget you 
You shall live on forever 
There is no doubt 
In our hopes and in our hearts 
Your love flows through out 
Through out the hearts of many 
Many of the old and the young 
You meant so much to everyone 
Even though you died so young 
But you will grow old with us 
Until we shall die 
For we shall never forget you 
Even though you are now free and can fly 
 

'From the Heart'
By Katiuska Arias 

Last night I went to sleep and I couldn't open my eyes, 
I was in a deep slumber and I began to cry. 
The memories, like a flood ran through my mind, 
And the reason for the deaths, I have yet to find. 

Perhaps it's the way that things happen sometimes, 
Life in itself can be as tangled as grapevines. 
If you're thinking: why is it them two whom we lack? 
Perhaps God just wanted two of his angels back. 

Dana was hilarious, charming, and complete, 
Jessica was my dog, the syz, the one that couldn't be beat, 
Their smiles were radiant, they brought light to any room, 
It breaks my heart that their lives were ended so soon. 

Beauty, talent, joy, humor, and many graces, 
These were the things we saw within their faces. 
At least whatever pain and suffering they had is now gone, 
Jessica and Dana, forever in our hearts, 
And your friends and family unite, together as one. 
 
 

Dana in action during a soccer game.

"I will miss Dana forever." By Kristin Snyder, French teacher I will always remember Dana's quick wit and the appreciative smile that she gave for every one of my dumb jokes.  She was a fine Spanish student who decided as a junior to start French. In French I, she always had a good sense of humor about how French words seem to bear no resemblance to their spelling. Then, in French II, she was so admired by my class of mostly freshmen. They looked at her in awe...They were so flattered to have a senior in their midst.  When she came back from a trip to Spain between her junior and senior years, she had a dreamy look in her eye. She loved the cafés, the boulevards, and the entire life. She then signed up to participate in the exchange with our school in Toulouse. We spent the entire year dreaming together of sitting at the terrace of a café in France and chatting in perfect French. No matter how hard the year got, or how cold and dreary it was outside, Dana and I could look at each other and just say, "France." We were going to be in Toulouse and Paris together. I do not know how many times Dana looked at me in France and just reminded me..."So, Madame, we're really in France."  I will miss Dana forever. She loved French; she loved the idea of a long walk along the boulevards of European cities; she loved to laugh at herself as she learned a new language. I see her gorgeous face in Paris, taking in the world and breaking into a beautiful smile.

"May they always be in our hearts." 
By Chris Huffman 

Knowing someone for years can have an impact on your life. Maybe we weren't the best of friends, but definitely friends. What I can remember of Jessica the most is being able to count on her, and that she was always there when you needed her. May Jessica and Dana always be in our hearts. 
 

"You made friends with everyone." 
By Sarah Wright 

Jessica, 
You were always so nice to me even though I was only a freshman. A lot of older people disrespect or look down upon younger students, but you weren’t like that. Even though I had never talked to you before, you walked into cheerleading with a huge smile and made friends with everyone. Even during the toughest times, you always knew what to do to make everybody laugh. I miss you. 
 

'A Little Too Late'
By KT Roberts 

The world just lost a wonderful person. Jessica was always smiling and happy and nice and sweet. There was no other way to describe her but that. She just turned 18 at the beginning of September and the thought was "Yes, now you are an adult and you can do anything you want." Her parents made her a videotape of her friends wishing her a happy birthday because she was already down at ECU. I wished her a happy birthday on that tape and had a gift for her that I was going to send as well. As school started for me, I kept putting off going to the post office. Day after day this brown box sat by the door waiting for me to send it down to her. Her dorm address was on it and it was all ready to go. I just needed to take it to the post office. 

Homecoming week, the box with her birthday present still had not been sent, but Jessica was coming home. I thought I would just give it to her when I saw her. I took her present out of the brown box and put it into a nice bag with festive tissue paper. I put it in the trunk of my car so I could give it to her. We planned to meet at the football game that Saturday, so I was thinking that after the game I would give it to her. I saw her in the beginning and told her that I had her gift in the trunk of my car and that I wanted to give it to her after the game. I told her that she would love it and she asked me what it was, but I wouldn’t tell her because it was going to be a surprise.But we never met up after the game; I couldn’t find her and I thought, "Oh, no worries. I’ll see her soon." 

She came home again this past week. And we both knew that this time she would get her gift, even if it was a month after her birthday. After all, it is better late then never. So we planned to meet up sometime at her house for just a few minutes so I could give her the present, but once again we failed to connect. I ask myself, today, October 16, why? Why couldn’t I have just left it on her doorstep waiting for her, or why couldn’t I have just sent the package, or WHY did this have to happen? 

The present that I was going to give to her, that is still sitting and waiting for her in my trunk is a picture of her and Kristen Janski at graduation. They both posed for a great picture of such a happy day, Jessica in her white cap and gown with a huge smile. I wish she could have seen it. It breaks my heart to know that I waited too long. I thought she would always be there, that I would always see her again, but no more will she have that chance to open a gift. 

Jessica was a kind soul and I will never forget her. People at George Mason should never forget her. Her smile brought warmth and friendship into this school and that will never leave. Her memory will always be here and it will always be in my heart. I miss her already; she always made me feel better if I was down. She made an ordinary day better with just her smile and her great voice saying "Hey," and even though that is gone, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. She’ll never be dead to me. 
 
 

'Those Green Eyes' By Maggie O'Toole Life is short, So let it be. You are gone, He set you free. Not seeing you around Is hard to believe. You were perfect, Perfect to me. Everyone looked up, Looked up to you, Wanting to be just like you. Grades and sports, It was all true. You were the perfect girl, We all knew. You lit up the room, With your gorgeous green eyes.  And we now know you're  Sparkling in the sky.  You are gone,  We now see.  So we'll let you go  'Cause He set you free.  WE LOVE YOU JESS!

Jessica celebrates a softball victory with her teammates.

"For Our Memories"
By Neil Powell 

Everyone who knows me knows it's hard for me to express my words in times like this. So I'll do it the only way I know how: 

Death is one of those things we try not to think about, 
Because it scares us and in our hearts we are filled with doubt. 
We don't want to believe that someone so precious to us has been taken, 
We shake our heads in disbelief and say, "You're mistaken!" 
God! They were much too young with too much to give, 
They had many more years in their lives to live. 
Sweet, beautiful, smart, and talented were the two, 
Death had no right to take them from me and you. 
And when I heard what happened I yelled out WHY? 
I DON'T UNDERSTAND! and I began to cry. 
I cried for our memories...my mistakes, 
I cried for sorrow deep inside...and until I began to shake. 
I cried because I never got to say good-bye, 
And now I must carry that with me until I die. 
But thank you two for everything, my heart is with you both. 
And I hope you're listening...I love you and will miss you both!!! 
 

'Jessica & Dana'
By Bob Snee, Principal 

Jessica Szymanski was ubiquitous, or at least she seemed that way to me. I think it was the warm, sweet dynamism that emanated from her and lingered long after she'd left the room. I'm still not accustomed to her absence from our school. 

Jessica was vivacious and effervescent in a way that simply made it fun to be around her. Her pluckiness as an athlete made her a pleasure to watch. She was one of those very special people who make this school what it is. We'll sorely miss her. 

Dana Wood always struck me as chronically gentle and kind. While she was as tough as she needed to be on the soccer field (thank goodness!), off that field she always carried herself with an elegance and a classiness of someone beyond her years.

Dana was possessed of a warmth and gentleness that always elicited a smile--but no smile as beautiful as her own. Her smile went all the way to her eyes and it was enough to brighten anyone's day. That smile and that human kindness were Dana's lasting gifts to all of us. 
 

'In Memory of Jessica 'Skinny''
By Eric Powell 

Her smile could simply change your mood in an instant. She could illuminate an entire room with her charismatic personality. She was such a great person that no words can represent everything she meant to the many that were close to her. 
 

"An Unbelievable Amount of Spirit"
By Claudia Daisley 

Jessica Blair Szymanski was, without a doubt, one of the best people I have ever met. I had only really known her for about a year and a half, but every time I was with her she really made me feel like one of her good friends. She didn't care about age or anything like that; she made a point to be nice to every single person she came across. She always had an unbelievable amount of spirit. Her smile could light up an entire room, and whenever she was around, people were always laughing. I'll never forget how I would be getting a ride home from a practice or game with Jessica, and she would randomly yell out of her window "Hey Diiiiinosaaur!" to a person walking along Broad Street. It was impossible not to have fun when she was around. Jessica has always been a huge role model of mine.

I've admired her amazing attitude towards life and her determination to overcome challenges. Though it does not seem right, I understand that Jessica is gone, and nothing can change that. However, recalling back to the memories, I look up to her even more so than I had before. All in all, Jessica Szymanski will always be remembered as an outstanding athlete, friend, and person in general.
 

"She was truly special."
By Michael Malone, JV basketball coach 

Over the years I've had the honor of working with some incredible student athletes, but Jessica was truly special.  Her infectious smile and congenial attitude had a positive impact on everyone that had the privilege of knowing her. This tragedy will leave a tremendous void in the Falls Church community. 
 
 

Jessica Szymanski poses with teammate Beth Pyne.

"I was so happy to get one of her big hugs." By Nora Hemphill I keep thinking that this entire tragedy will disappear. I mean, Jessica...dead? It’s definitely not right. She was so amazing, so full of life. There isn’t any way that anybody who’s so energetic, so vivacious, can just die like that. She would always come up to me, smiling such a genuine smile. Any sadness I had would just go away the second she started telling me that things would be okay. And then my mom came in this morning and told me "Jessica Szymanski and Dana Wood died last night in a car crash." I thought it was a joke. They both had so much ahead of them. Jessica turned 18 just a month ago. She should have had another seventy years ahead of her at least. Anytime I think of them dying like that, dying at all, I can’t stop the tears. Jessica was immediately so sweet to me. I didn’t even know her at first and she would talk to me online, talk to me whenever I needed somebody. You don’t find many people like that. She was one of the greatest people I’ve ever known. She touched everybody that she spoke to. Once she left for college, I missed seeing her so much, but at least I could still talk to her. On her visits home, I was so happy to get one of her big hugs, and I was so glad to see her. And then she’d leave, but we’d still talk. And now, I keep thinking I’m going to go home and get online and she’ll be there. But she isn’t, and it hurts so badly. You don’t know how much you’ll miss somebody till they’re gone. I never imagined she meant this much to me. I feel as though a part of me is gone for good. While I know she’s in heaven, she had so much to look forward to, so much to do. I know she would have been successful. She was so amazing. I loved her so much and always will.

‘Thinking of Dana Wood’
By Becky Roa

I went to bed thinking only of myself,
And when the phone rang the next morning I could think only of someone else.
Soccer brought us together each and every day,
I will always remember her in every way.
Just when you thought you couldn’t laugh anymore,
She’d be back with even more.
I asked her about college and if she was nervous and low,
And she answered "At first, Becky, yes, but now I’m ready to go."
Memories and pictures are all I have to remember,
But in my heart she will remain forever.

"Just her smile lit up the room."
By Jenny Evans and Katerina Zissios

Jessica Szymanski was a girl of many words. Just her smile lit up the room, and her laughter was contagious. She somehow knew how to turn a bad day into a good day just by doing the simplest things. She had a certain quality about her that would bring out the best in other people. As one of the members of the cheerleading squad, she was definitely one of the most spirited and well-rounded people that we have known. She affected people in her daily life in such a positive way. She will be greatly missed. We love you always.
 
 

"To me, she is still alive." By Megan Wilhelm The loss of a life is always sad, but the loss of a friend is worse. I had played soccer with Dana Wood on the George Mason team since I joined in 8th grade. She was always one to make me feel welcome when others didn’t. I will always remember her smile and the way she made everyone around her happy. She always had a kind word for anyone and a happy spirit that never seemed to end. To me, she is still alive. I always pictured her living in Falls Church, with kids in tow, loving life and living it to the fullest. She will be remembered through our memories of her. We love you Dana!

Dana Wood, second from right, celebrates  the state championship with her varsity  soccer teammates.

"A part of our lives always."
By Stephen Gulliksen

Whenever I would ask Jessica or Dana for a favor, never once did either one hesitate to accept. Dana and Jessica were both caring and never failed to cheer up a crowd. I thank them for the times they put a smile upon my face. Jessica and Dana will remain a part of our lives always.
 

Submit your own remembrances of Jessica and Dana to the Lasso staff in person or via e-mail to HooverM@fccps.k12.va.us.

Related Stories: 
'News of the Most Distressing Kind'
 Friends Preserve the Memories Of Dana and Jessica