The Z-man

The Alberton Papers, Vol V, #XIV
By Dick Darne 1-28-08
This may well be the hardest article I’ve ever written. The news of Mark Zylawy’s death was like a sledgehammer to the gut. I have known him since his school days here in Alberton. He was one of the few that I had high expectations for and he not only never let me down, but he exceeded them. One of Alberton’s finest became one of Portland’s finest, providing the standard by which all true "community-based" law enforcement should be measured. He patrolled close by where his friend and my son Kevin and my daughter Meghann lived in northeast Portland. Over the years I would get to see him and chat about his work. I now wish that I had taken his offer for a "ride along". Mark was born to be polite and respectful, I can’t even imagine him behaving any other way. This earned him the respect of his fellow officer’s, the people he had sworn to protect and serve and even the respect of the ones he had to arrest.
This has been a bad year for Alberton, with lots of illness and death. It’s sad enough for the passing of those who have had a full life but it’s easier knowing that it must happen eventually. We can accept the natural order of things, but to lose one in the prime of life hits much harder. Most of us who have lived much longer will never accomplish as much as "Z-man had already done.
Mark, you may have had more verses to sing, but you already sang more than most of us. Farewell to one of the finest men I have ever known. dd