Idid not know Sidney Wakefield and Joseph Fann, but they lived just blocks from my house in Red Bank.

On Feb. 10 they died just blocks from my house — for no reason whatsoever. My condolences go out to their families and friends.

Please forgive me, if you can, for what seems like a preachy grammar lesson while two young men lie dead in the street.

"Den/Then, Discuss/Disgust, Why/While, There/Their, Your/You're are just some of the miscommunications I've read online.

My point is about valuing education and effective communication.

Each of us must be led to the realization that we build our own bright futures one step, one word, one action at a time.

I'm sorry, but the memorial at the murder site really bothers me. A pile of empty liquor bottles, a "blunt," a T-shirt that reads, "Stacks [money] or Die" and messages like "Your my n— —- 4 life" to me mark this tragedy as more than a senseless loss of life. Somehow we need to persuade young people that life is worth living to the fullest and that they personally are capable of remarkable achievements. Loss of young life is a loss of wasted potential. As a community and as a nation, we can't afford to keep losing.
Wendy Born Hollander
Red Bank