Chip Midnight was sitting at his makeshift desk in the basement of his Worthington home when his email pinged.
He saw it was from an old friend, so he opened it. But he was unprepared for what it entailed – so much so that the idea of it practically took his breath away.
That was on June 4th, the anniversary of the date three years ago that Midnight’s eldest daughter died of a sudden brain hemorrhage at the age of 17.
And now, that day, there was a surprising email from Marysville musician Ryan Horns saying he had written and recorded a song in honor of Olivia Midnight because although he had never known the teenager, she had hers Living life so clearly caring because others have inspired him.
Get to know Olivia Midnight: “She wanted her artwork to be perfect.”
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“It was clear that Ryan’s heart was in it,” said Midnight. “He’s not just given us a gift, but a gift to our entire family. He gave Liv’s friends a present. I listened to the song and when I heard him sing her name I cried. “
Horns is now a 47-year-old communications specialist in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Ohio State University. But at night the husband and father perform solo in the city as well as with his band Paper Airplane.
He met Midnight – who works daytime in event technology at Nationwide – because the latter has long been a prolific freelance journalist covering the music scene.
The two are not close friends who spend a lot of time together, but they share a lot of musical interests so they get along well and have kept in touch.
When Olivia suddenly died in 2018, just weeks after completing her junior year, Horns couldn’t imagine the devastation the midnights felt. It is particularly difficult because he and his wife have a young daughter themselves.
“I was so very sad for the family after Olivia died,” said Horns. “I mean, you see them go on and ask yourself every day, ‘Where do they get their strength from?’ I had to honor it all somehow. “
“Olivia Midnight” has now been released on streaming platforms and is available on Horns’ Bandcamp site and from Paper Airplane. All money from paid downloads and donations received goes directly to the Olivia A. Midnight Memorial Scholarship, a US $ 2,000 award given annually to students who, in the opinion of Midnights, symbolize their daughter’s spirit of giving and giving Joy and the good in the best personify world.
“All we always wanted was to raise good people,” said mother Kate Midnight, who still speaks of her daughter in the present tense now and then. “Liv is smart and pretty and kind and is the kind of daughter everyone would want. Liv took great care of the people. “
Listen and download: “Olivia Midnight” by Ryan Horns and Paper Airplane
During the pandemic, Horns, like many musicians, was without performances. And like many other people, his mental health suffered from the worry and isolation and all the things that the pandemic brought with it.
So he used social media to help. He started sending positive messages to random people whom he lived in ways that inspired him. And he started writing songs about her.
He wrote and recorded a song about a Cincinnati bartender, Mollie Dudley, who (with no artist training) used her pandemic downtime to draw portraits of friends. And he wrote and recorded a song about a man who worked at Ohio State University’s Wexner Center for the Arts and songs about members of his own family.
He has plans for more and hopes to put them all on one album. But it was working on “Olivia Midnight” that turned out to be particularly cathartic.
Olivia Midnight, I know I can hear your name in the twilight.
“I was depressed – I think we were all depressed – and I just started looking for people doing hopeful things,” Horns said. “It’s about … taking pain and turning it into something beautiful.”
For the midnights, three years didn’t ease her grief. Chip Midnight heard Horns’ song about his daughter only once. Kate Midnight hasn’t listened to it yet.
But you have heard from so many people who have heard and been touched.
Olivia, her mother says, was a force.
She was a productive and talented artist, and her framed artwork covers the walls of the family home. She was a soulful free spirit, a teenager whose lithe body was constantly on the move and whose long arms and legs seemed to be in constant motion because of the energy she had.
Chip has found some level of comfort in support groups over the years, particularly the local branch of the Compassionate Friends support group. And because Midnights decided to donate Olivia’s organs, the continued support of Lifeline of Ohio has meant so much, too.
Kate tries to keep it together for her two younger daughters, 19-year-old Abbey and 15-year-old Piper. But she still cries every day.
On the day of Olivia’s death, Chip never really knows what to say publicly. Horns’ surprise gift touched him deeply and provided the perfect solution: “I posted the song and let it speak for me.”
“We want to keep talking about her and sharing Liv’s story,” said Kate. “We want people to remember her and try to live their life the way she did – never judge anyone and always care about others.”
To hear “Olivia Midnight” and to donate to the scholarship fund, visit paperairplane1.bandcamp.com/track/olivia-midnight. To donate directly through the Columbus Foundation, visit livmidnight.com or columbusfoundation.org.
hzachariah@dispatch.com
@hollyzachariah
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/marysville-musicians-song-honors-late-thomas-worthington-student/
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