Moments
have presented
themselves.
Little
reminders
of
how
wonderful it
is to
smell
sunshine
and
watch things
grow
and
laugh
and
sing
to
yourself
and
surge
forward.
Linda,
a
week
from now
it
will all
be over
and all will
be well.
And,
Joe,
I
know
you are
soaring.
And
birds
wake
you
up
singing
and
you
feel
your
heart
beat
and
wonder
where
the day
will
take
you.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Tell those you love that you love them.
My friend's kid:
Joseph Sodd III lay bleeding and unconscious in a busy Minneapolis intersection early Wednesday. Just hours earlier, in front of his teen dance students, the college senior had previewed an original piece composed with rap music that "he hoped would make the audience remember me."
Presumably driving home on his moped from the University of Minnesota's West Bank area at about 2 a.m., Sodd may have been attacked during a robbery near 7th St. and 19th Avenue S.
A passerby saw him in the street and called police. Sodd had been stabbed once in the throat. The good Samaritan tried to render aid, but Sodd died later at a nearby hospital.
The 20-year-old had recently come home to Minneapolis after his junior year at the renowned Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where a school official said Sodd's passion for dance and living had made him a beacon of the department.
After watching the NBA championship game Tuesday with his dad, Sodd hooked up with friends on the University of Minnesota.
"I'm all about forgiveness at this point," his father, Joseph Sodd Jr., said Wednesday. "I can't be angry. Do you think my son would want that?"
At that moment, Ian Huddleston slowly walked up the sidewalk at the Sodds' house and fell into the arms of his best friend's father, sobbing uncontrollably. The boys had met at the Perpich Center for Arts Education, the state's arts high school in Golden Valley.
"First time I met him, he was dancing to the music of the Velvet Underground. I knew then I needed to be his friend," Huddleston said. "I feel cheated he won't even make it to his 21st birthday."
It's too early in the investigation to know if robbery definitely was the motive, said Lt. Amelia Huffman, head of the Minneapolis homicide unit. Sodd's moped was left behind at the intersection of 7th St. and 19th Avenue S. in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, she said. It's a high-traffic area, and police hope someone who saw or heard the attack will come forward.
Investigators are also trying to determine if several recent robberies and assaults near the crime scene are connected to Sodd's death, Huffman said. Sodd is the city's 18th homicide this year, compared to 25 at this time in 2007.
Sodd specialized in tap dancing, inspired by watching Gene Kelly as a child. At the Perpich Center, a large dance banner featuring Sodd could be seen hanging in front of the school, his father said.
"Joe came to us a proficient tap dancer, but at Cornish he really started to learn about ballet and modern dance," said Kittie Daniels, chair of the college's dance department. "But he distinguished himself by bridging outside his base of comfort."
Next year, Sodd would have become one of 25 seniors in the dance department. When Daniels learned about Sodd's death, she tried to call his closest friends in the program. But word had already spread like wildfire before she contacted the first person, she said.
"If the person who did this knew Joe, they would have never used violence against him," Huddleston said. "I have no idea what would have motivated this."
Sodd Jr. said his son was graceful and strong. To have such graceful leaping ability as a dancer, Joe "sprouted a pair of invisible wings during his performances," he said. Joe's brother Alden graduated from Perpich Center last week and plans to study dance in California.
Sodd is the grandson of well-known Minnesota golfer Joseph Sodd, who won the state's Open championship in 1963 and later became a pro at Golden Valley Country Club.
Sodd was the kind of person who could bring different groups of people together, said Jim Pfeffer, a friend who lived with him in Seattle. He never "got bummed out about anything" and believed he was on the verge of something great.
A lover of music, he might be listening to Frank Zappa one minute and Kanye West the next, friends said. In Minneapolis, he was a student in the adult dance program at Zenon Dance Company and performed and taught with Out on a Limb Dance Company in St. Paul for the past five years.
"Joe is pretty indescribable," said Amber Keeley, director of Out on a Limb and a former dance partner. "He's loving and funny and goofy. He's so fun to watch on stage."
Sodd became a role model for his students at Out on a Limb, because he never passed judgment. Keeley said her staff is struggling to explain why he died so violently.
"I've been crying all day, so it really hasn't hit me that he won't be with us to dance anymore," she said. "But our artistic director said he danced like a star and now he's dancing with the stars."
dchanen startribune 6/19/08
R.I.P. Joe.
Joseph Sodd III lay bleeding and unconscious in a busy Minneapolis intersection early Wednesday. Just hours earlier, in front of his teen dance students, the college senior had previewed an original piece composed with rap music that "he hoped would make the audience remember me."
Presumably driving home on his moped from the University of Minnesota's West Bank area at about 2 a.m., Sodd may have been attacked during a robbery near 7th St. and 19th Avenue S.
A passerby saw him in the street and called police. Sodd had been stabbed once in the throat. The good Samaritan tried to render aid, but Sodd died later at a nearby hospital.
The 20-year-old had recently come home to Minneapolis after his junior year at the renowned Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, where a school official said Sodd's passion for dance and living had made him a beacon of the department.
After watching the NBA championship game Tuesday with his dad, Sodd hooked up with friends on the University of Minnesota.
"I'm all about forgiveness at this point," his father, Joseph Sodd Jr., said Wednesday. "I can't be angry. Do you think my son would want that?"
At that moment, Ian Huddleston slowly walked up the sidewalk at the Sodds' house and fell into the arms of his best friend's father, sobbing uncontrollably. The boys had met at the Perpich Center for Arts Education, the state's arts high school in Golden Valley.
"First time I met him, he was dancing to the music of the Velvet Underground. I knew then I needed to be his friend," Huddleston said. "I feel cheated he won't even make it to his 21st birthday."
It's too early in the investigation to know if robbery definitely was the motive, said Lt. Amelia Huffman, head of the Minneapolis homicide unit. Sodd's moped was left behind at the intersection of 7th St. and 19th Avenue S. in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, she said. It's a high-traffic area, and police hope someone who saw or heard the attack will come forward.
Investigators are also trying to determine if several recent robberies and assaults near the crime scene are connected to Sodd's death, Huffman said. Sodd is the city's 18th homicide this year, compared to 25 at this time in 2007.
Sodd specialized in tap dancing, inspired by watching Gene Kelly as a child. At the Perpich Center, a large dance banner featuring Sodd could be seen hanging in front of the school, his father said.
"Joe came to us a proficient tap dancer, but at Cornish he really started to learn about ballet and modern dance," said Kittie Daniels, chair of the college's dance department. "But he distinguished himself by bridging outside his base of comfort."
Next year, Sodd would have become one of 25 seniors in the dance department. When Daniels learned about Sodd's death, she tried to call his closest friends in the program. But word had already spread like wildfire before she contacted the first person, she said.
"If the person who did this knew Joe, they would have never used violence against him," Huddleston said. "I have no idea what would have motivated this."
Sodd Jr. said his son was graceful and strong. To have such graceful leaping ability as a dancer, Joe "sprouted a pair of invisible wings during his performances," he said. Joe's brother Alden graduated from Perpich Center last week and plans to study dance in California.
Sodd is the grandson of well-known Minnesota golfer Joseph Sodd, who won the state's Open championship in 1963 and later became a pro at Golden Valley Country Club.
Sodd was the kind of person who could bring different groups of people together, said Jim Pfeffer, a friend who lived with him in Seattle. He never "got bummed out about anything" and believed he was on the verge of something great.
A lover of music, he might be listening to Frank Zappa one minute and Kanye West the next, friends said. In Minneapolis, he was a student in the adult dance program at Zenon Dance Company and performed and taught with Out on a Limb Dance Company in St. Paul for the past five years.
"Joe is pretty indescribable," said Amber Keeley, director of Out on a Limb and a former dance partner. "He's loving and funny and goofy. He's so fun to watch on stage."
Sodd became a role model for his students at Out on a Limb, because he never passed judgment. Keeley said her staff is struggling to explain why he died so violently.
"I've been crying all day, so it really hasn't hit me that he won't be with us to dance anymore," she said. "But our artistic director said he danced like a star and now he's dancing with the stars."
dchanen startribune 6/19/08
R.I.P. Joe.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
it only took three years
there
has always
been something about
water
for me
So-
to be so near it
to
feel
your
body
rhythm
start to
move
with
the
current
had
to be
fortuitous
That
upon
coming
home a
note,
"I needed
to be with
the dog
this weekend."
And i
knew he had
left
That
whatever
substance
had
been
hanging around
now vanished
I
remembered
pouring
Lake Superior's
cold
water
over
me
cooling
my hot skin
from the
sauna
And feeling
like this was
a baptismal
So
it was
no wonder
that i
found
myself
in the basement's
lonely
bathroom
taking
down the
last of
you
and
putting
it in a
box.
why
had i
needed you
to leave
him
for me to
truly
leave
you
i
may never know
but you have.
and
so
the
current
continues to
flow.
at
last.
has always
been something about
water
for me
So-
to be so near it
to
feel
your
body
rhythm
start to
move
with
the
current
had
to be
fortuitous
That
upon
coming
home a
note,
"I needed
to be with
the dog
this weekend."
And i
knew he had
left
That
whatever
substance
had
been
hanging around
now vanished
I
remembered
pouring
Lake Superior's
cold
water
over
me
cooling
my hot skin
from the
sauna
And feeling
like this was
a baptismal
So
it was
no wonder
that i
found
myself
in the basement's
lonely
bathroom
taking
down the
last of
you
and
putting
it in a
box.
why
had i
needed you
to leave
him
for me to
truly
leave
you
i
may never know
but you have.
and
so
the
current
continues to
flow.
at
last.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
time
What does
One
do
when one
is given time?
Do they
close their
eyes
when
awake
at
6:30 am
and
know
that
they
can wait
until 9?
Do
they take
a cup
of coffee
and get lost
in watching
fish?
And
then
check
on
growing
vegetables?
Do they
make meals
from leftovers they
find in the refrigerator?
Do
they
wonder
how thier
friends
are?
And welcome
them
with open
arms when they ask,
"Can I stop
over?"
Do they not
prepare for
tomorrow but
exist in today?
Do
they
breathe?
Yes.
One
do
when one
is given time?
Do they
close their
eyes
when
awake
at
6:30 am
and
know
that
they
can wait
until 9?
Do
they take
a cup
of coffee
and get lost
in watching
fish?
And
then
check
on
growing
vegetables?
Do they
make meals
from leftovers they
find in the refrigerator?
Do
they
wonder
how thier
friends
are?
And welcome
them
with open
arms when they ask,
"Can I stop
over?"
Do they not
prepare for
tomorrow but
exist in today?
Do
they
breathe?
Yes.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
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