Dancing In The Rain

DARREN RUSSELL- A TRIBUTE

“I think life is just too short to contemplate what would or could be. It is about having an idea and getting out and following through with your innermost burning desires. When the school year resumes, I will walk into the classroom with a smile and hidden tears of joy, while my students will be introduced to Mr. Rabbit, who will be full of enthusiasm and optimism.”
Darren E. Russell (Chinese name: White Rabbit) Written 1-1-2005

“An individual has not started living until he can rise about the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.”
Albert Einstein

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Winston Churchill

Darren Russell, employed as an English teacher, was murdered in China. The original song, "Dancing in the Rain" is based on the Pearl and Russell Family's goal to eradicate violence and reach out for peace.

Maxine Russell has honored her son’s memory by sponsoring a troop in Iraq/Kuwait, helping other homicide survivors with free resources and grief education support, training a therapy dog to work with patients in hospitals, paying tuition for poor students in China to attend school and the possibility of supplying service dogs for returning veterans who are amputees.

The song, ‘Dancing in the Rain’ is a tribute to how Darren's spirit continues to live on. No one should ever have to lose a child. It is something that breaks your heart forever. But Darren's spirit for life and reaching out to others compels me to show the world that each and every person can make a difference in this world and change it for the better.”

For more information on the Daniel Pearl Foundation, please go to:
www.danielpearl.org
For more information on Darren Russell, please go to: www.justiceforamericansinchina.com and www.teachinginchina.net.
To hear “Dancing In The Rain” right now, please go to: www.Dancingintherain.us
A TRIBUTE IN QUOTES FROM FAMILY, FRIENDS, TEACHERS, MENTOR

Darren was a remarkable son. His capacity to reach out and help others, often people who no one else would pay attention to, was extraordinary. He would light up a room by his presence. His desire to make this world a better place was overwhelming. His compassion, warmth, and kind soul radiated happiness and peace. Money was never important to him - it was only a means to reach out to others and make their lives better. He loved people and animals. He rescued a dog that had been beaten with a broken patella at the age of one year. That dog was so happy to have a new life that she lived two weeks short of nineteen years of age. He was a tremendous son, uncle, brother, friend, and teacher. His patience and love for life was something all of us should strive for. In his thirty-five short years, he touched hundreds of people. Even in death, he continues to reach out and make the world a better place for everyone by the programs in his memory.
Maxine Russell, Mother

Darren lived each day to the fullest and never wasted one minute of his life. May his humor, gentleness, kindness, generosity, innocence, and character live on in us all.
Mike and Maxine Russell (Parents)

"My Brother Darren lived life to the fullest. In it, he would surely have no regrets. Never was a day wasted, nor anyone left untouched by his kindness. It is my sincere hope that those who knew him, pick up where he left off. As nobody really knows when life may end, we can all try to make a difference every day we are blessed to awake. As Albert Pike once wrote, "What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." May his life be a lesson to those of us who are fortunate enough to still make a difference."
Bill Russell

I was Darren's mentor in a teacher training program at the American Language Institute at San Diego State University. I remember Darren as a refreshingly down-to-earth individual whom I enjoyed being around. Although rather shy, he was easy to chat with, and he always had interesting experiences/stories to share. He had a warm smile and a gentle sense of humor. He seemed to be a person with very little pretense, very open about himself and his life. He wore his heart on his sleeve. He impressed me as being genuinely excited about helping students make progress in their English studies and about the prospects of teaching overseas. He had an adventurous spirit evidenced by his wide travels. Although we worked together for a relatively short time, I will always remember Darren as the kind soul, who, at the end of the term, brought each student (and me!) an individually wrapped, unique present to mark the end of our journey together as a class. Rest in peace, Darren.
Gary Jensen (Mentor)

Darren was my first college