F E AT U R E
Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
It’s a... duck!
MANY HAVE ENQUIRED, “WHAT’S UP WITH THE DUCK?”
SIT BACK, RELAX AND LEARN WHY A SMALL SKETCHING OF
A DUCK IS HERE TO SAVE THE WORLD IN A VERY BIG WAY.
S
Stephen C. Parish, Jr. was
someone you would want to
know. He was an individual
who had many gifts and talents,
impeccable integrity and
character. He was a gifted artist and
singer, who expressed himself with every
performance and in each picture he
drew. Steve loved to draw what is now
known as “Steve’s Duck” – an eclectic
pencil drawing of a duck that best depicts
Steve’s originality.
Steve believed in giving back,
volunteering and in doing the
unthinkable. He would put everyone
first and was someone who made you
a better person for having him in your
life. His dreams to make a change in this
world tragically came to an end on
March 22 2009.
The heart wrenching loss suffered by
his parents Rhonda and Randy Burch
was shared by all who knew Steve. At
a poignant memorial service held by
Pace University, thousands of stickers
of Steve’s Duck were passed out to
the attendees, and in true New York
City style, the memory of Steve was
beginning to be carried on. New York,
the originator of the modern graffiti, also
known as “tagging” would become the
start of tagging the world with Steve’s
memory. All were encouraged to tag
Steve’s Duck across New York City
(in classrooms, on bridges, favourite
86 ISSUE 04 VAPOUROUND MAGAZINE
STEVE LOVED TO DRAW
WHAT IS NOW KNOWN
AS “STEVE’S DUCK”
– AN ECLECTIC PENCIL
DRAWING OF A DUCK
THAT BEST DEPICTS
STEVE’S ORIGINALITY.
restaurants and airports), spreading his
memory everywhere they went.
Not long after the memorial service, the
idea of tagging Steve with his duck took
off. Steve’s family and friends began
tagging the world. As they travelled,
stickers were placed by those whose
lives he touched wherever they would
go. Steve’s Duck has been to the
mountains in California, to sunny Florida,
Colorado and back to his college dorm
from his freshman year. It has travelled
the world and is tagged in Mexico, Paris
and Brazil.
The reason behind the phenomenal
success of tagging Steve’s Duck is due
to the fact that Steve was such a beloved
character whose aim was to make a
difference. Who was Steve who inspired
a world movement?
Steve was someone who could do
it all. In high school, he was a camp
counsellor at Camp MiBroBe where he
helped students develop skills to survive
on their own and without the supervision
of their parents. He was in every theatre
production, a member of Key Club,
participated in Mock Trial and was
honoured with the Philanthropic Youth
award by Case Western Reserve. From
teaching autistic children at Teach for
America to devoting his life to help
poverty stricken youngsters, Steve was
making a massive impact on spreading
positive messages during his travels