By Caitlin Crawford
for the Salisbury Post
On Sept. 21, 2009, the family of Preston Slade Crawford lost not only a home but a beloved son.
The Crawford family lost everything due to the recent flooding in Georgia. Slade was torn from his father’s arms and drowned by the torrent of water that was once a creek.
Immediately after seeing the story on the news, local musician Peredy sat down to write.
“I started writing about two minutes after I saw it,” Peredy said. “Just seemed like something I needed to do.”
Using the information from the story, Peredy wrote Slade’s song from the father’s point of view. “I used his story mainly in the chorus, and the rest just kind of telling what happened in a way a musician would I guess.”
He decided to do whatever he could to help, and that took the form of this song.
“I thought that I wanted to help, but I don’t have anything, so I figured I could write a song and include the awareness of the bank information where people can make donations. Then I started thinking I could sell the MP3 and donate that money, too.” The money raised from the MP3 sales, 99 cents per song, along with the money mailed to the Georgia bank outlets, will be used to help the Crawford family with funeral expenses.
Peredy hopes to make a difference in the lives of the members of this family. He wrote and recorded this song and posted it online in order to raise money from a broader audience.
“It ripped through me,” he said. “There are a lot of heart-wrenching stories all the time, but I guess I just visualized the father holding that boy, then the waters taking him like nature’s evil side, extending its arms and taking what it wants. They lost everything. I can relate to that.”
To view the online memorial, visit http://preston-crawford. gonetoosoon .org.
Memorial donations can be made to First National Bank of Georgia, Donations for Slade Crawford, 201 Maple St., Carrollton, Ga. 30117. To buy the MP3 and view the video for Slade’s song, visit www.peredymusic .com/slade.