Tuesday, June 14, 2011

DASH P "LIVE IN THE SKY"

Alfreda Brown, mother of Naisere Brown, listens to stories from friends during a Vigil for him on the beach in Bradley Beach.
Alfreda Brown, mother of Naisere Brown, listens to stories from friends during a Vigil for him on the beach in Bradley Beach. / Robert Ward / Staff Photographer

Bradley Beach, 06/12/11 ---- Vigil on the beach in Bradley Beach for drowning victim Naisere Nelson. 15 years of Neptune. Robert Ward / Staff Photographer
Bradley Beach, 06/12/11 ---- Vigil on the beach in Bradley Beach for drowning victim Naisere Nelson. 15 years of Neptune. Robert Ward / Staff Photographer / ROBERT WARD/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER



BRADLEY BEACH — Hundreds of friends and family members gathered at the Brinley Avenue Beach Sunday evening for a candlelight vigil at the place where Naisere Nelson was swept out to sea.
The 15-year-old Neptune High School sophomore went missing Thursday while swimming with friends. Searchers scoured the jetty area and surf Thursday evening and much of Friday looking for the teen before the search was canceled because of stormy weather.
With Nelson still missing, friends and family gathered Sunday evening along the boardwalk carrying white balloons with messages such as “Team Nas” and “I miss you.” Others carried fistfuls of roses and daisies as they walked to the edge of the surf.
“He was the straw that stirs the drink,” said Laura Myers, 42, of Ocean Grove. Myers said Nelson and her son Miles were friends for years. “He impacted a lot of people. He was a good kid.”
In Nelson’s honor, some of his friends dyed an off-centered stripe of vibrant color into their hair, something that the teen did regularly, Myers said.
Nelson, who played football, also enjoyed basketball and video games, said Cavendish Louisius, 17, of Neptune. The two had been friends since second grade.
“He was funny … he always had a smile on his face,” Louisius said, while holding a white balloon that read “I love you, Naisere.”
During the vigil, friends shielded candles from the wind and others hugged at the edge of the surf. His closest friends and family pushed through the throngs of supporters to share memories in a tightly packed circle where their voices were dwarfed by the roar of waves.
“Everybody loved him in school,” said Elaine Granata Davis as she wiped away tears.
Davis, a teacher at Neptune High School, had Nelson as a Spanish language student for a semester of during his freshman year, as the school has blocked scheduling, she said. Davis described Nelson as a quiet, respectful and friendly boy.
“It was an honor to be his teacher,” she said.
At the end of the vigil, the crowd moved toward the water where they released balloons, sending a rainbow of colored balls, stars and hearts into the overcast sky. Others threw roses and daisies into the surf, where the waves picked up the flowers and pulled them out to sea.
As of Sunday afternoon, Bradley Beach police still were still searching the beach for Nelson’s body.



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