”A Leicester man has died from his injuries following a motorcycle crash last week.” News media does not typically celebrate life and joi de vivre. News is stark and negative; it gets so much wrong and leaves so much out. News typically leaves out the bereaved and grieving, the loving moments and time spent together, and the celebration of a beloved world that gives us all life. “Police say the crash happened April 19 on Lake Dunmore Road in Leicester. They say Jozef Sloma, 22, was headed south when he lost control of the bike. He was rushed by helicopter to the UVM Medical Center. Police say on April 26, Sloma died of his injuries.” www.wcax.com/2021/04/27/

These bare lines misreport the age and other details of Jozef “Joe” Callum Sloma (Józef Słoma). The terse "news" makes us cry out with shock and grief: he was months past his 21st birthday. Abrupt articles like this one get a lot wrong; they are rarely helpful, transformative, or humane. WCAX does not say that Jozef had just been hired for a dream summer job as motorpool coordinator at Keewaydin Lake Dunmore, excited to get campers out on their adventures. The article does not say that Joe had been working for Almeida Farms in Addison agitating liquid manure, trying to plow wet clay for spring crops, or enjoyed tractors and vehicles of all kinds. The article does not mention that Jozef lovingly repaired the classic 1956 R50 BMW motorcycle he was riding out to get the mail, or that he was a “hobby mechanic” who enjoyed repairing classic vehicles ever since age 14.

 

The WCAX piece did not say that Jozef was looking forward to using the proceeds from the BMW’s sale to fund his new venture as a Restorative Justice & Criminology student at Northern Vermont University this fall. Less than 50 words; the news did not report that the center of our world had “gone down the river” before us. The news failed to mention that even Jozef’s fight for life at Fletcher Allen trauma center and ICU was heroic and epic, and that we all desperately miss our larger than life fan of "Coffee, Kerouac, Johnny Cash and camping; in that order." The terse news left out how delighted David and Jean Callum in Leicester were to help their grandson set up his first ever apartment (sharing space with the GEOARCH, Inc. offices), hear “Gramp, I have an idea,” work together with the Kubota tractor, or enjoy the wild landscapes.

 

The WCAX article does not report how much his parents and friends in Spokane, Washington and many other places will miss his quirky contagious enthusiasm for life. The news article failed to say that Jozef had been looking forward for years to return to his “natal waters” (like a salmon swimming upstream) of Green Mountains and wide Champlain Valley. Like many suddenly bereaved parents, we were to learn later that encountering a trauma news story may contribute to framing of loss in terms of P.T.S.D. Rather than dwelling in our family’s darkest ever two weeks, your actions in his memory will help us remember a young man who brightened the lives and hearts of family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers (who did not remain that way long).

 

Jozef left a long list of rugged outdoors Vermont hikes on his desk of his first independent apartment, above his grandparents. His creative Instagram photos showcase his love for his native state of Vermont. Joe and his dear friend Theo had just begun to explore many scenic places in Vermont and the Northeast. His family and friends share a legacy of Joe's photos, things made and fixed, beloved places,  and stories. It would be our joy and honor to celebrate Jozef Callum Sloma the way that he lived his life, and that's what this website is all about. We hope to see you on a memory walk. Or,  inspired by Jozef, you too steward a historic building, tree, or forest in his honor.