Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Life Review #3: A Selected High School Memory

Wouldn't go back to high school if my life depended on it.  Don't me wrong.  It was a rite of passage that I had to go through, but in hindsight, the awkwardness of it all was too much.  I try not to think about my high school years.  I wasn't one of the football jocks, nor one of the smart kids, and most definitely not one of the "high school heroes, life zeros."  I was just me and as I've aged, I've gotten better like a fine wine.  You know those ones you hear about going for thousands of dollars in auctions.

What I remember most about high school was when it ended.  I marched to Pomp and Circumstance, in my robe and cap, got my diploma, and that was it. I remember it well.  I also remember when Roger, the guy who sat next to me in French class, got our teacher so mad she turned red.  And I do mean bright red.  She looked like a bottle rocket about to go off.  It's one of my better memories.  I would guess it was not for Roger since her red-glaring eyes were burning holes in him.

From what I recall, Madame, as we always called her, had given us the assignment to write a letter to an imaginary person all "en francais."  In order to pass, she gave us a baseline and from there you could add more.  If you didn't add more, you kind of heard about it.  Roger heard about it.  He used the excuse that he didn't realize and started pushing the issue.

I can equate it to kind of like a fight at the United Nations.  Maybe with someone pounding their shoe on the podium.  Madame obviously being the French delegate. Roger from Germany.  Me from Ireland.  (I only throw myself into the mix because I love the idea of the Emerald Isle and redheads.)   Since I sat right next to Roger, I feared that yet another war would break out between the two countries.  Ultimately, there seemed to be some sort of peace treaty.  Possibly with Madam telling him to "knock it off or else."  I suspect that day if the opportunity had arisen Roger would have been sentenced to life in the Bastille.  Luckily for him, she didn't keep a guillotine in the closet.

Vive La France!

CSM

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Life, Liberty, the Pursuit of Happiness, and JD Mccallister

James Mccallister mentioned something about getting old in a recent Facebook post.  By the way, I never called him James, I always called him JD because my Dad did... but back to where I was James Mccallister mentioning something about getting old.

Well, from what I've heard over the years, he'll never be old.  He's timeless.  And one of the few out there in the world.  My Dad told many stories about JD's life from the time he maneuvered his way into the military nearly breaking his mother's heart to the spectrum of world adventures.  And from my best judgement, JD is a man who knows no fear. And never has.  So, as far as I'm concerned he doesn't need to be fearful of getting old.  Now, of course, I realize that I'm a 45-year-old saying this and not turning 80 any time soon.

JD reminds me of my Mom.   Always on the go.  My Mom worked at a living history museum, dressing in 1830s clothes, spinning, weaving, cooking on the hearth.  She loved it.  We always joked that she would die there and she'd be happy to play the part of the corpse for the funeral recreation. The main point to this is that she never stopped.  Her body had a different opinion, but her spirit kept going.  JD has that type of spirit.

Out of everyone I've ever known or heard about, I think he's one of the few that took on the true meaning of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."  He always encouraged others to get out their shells and ruts and go beyond their comfortable life path.

I recently visited him in Florida, he took for a boat ride along coast.  We started to dock and he wanted to give me tour of the resort that was there, but between the wind and boat not cooperating, we didn't make it.  Even though I didn't get to the see the resort, I was amazed at his agility and enduring spirit.   He wrestled with that boat to get it docked and tied up like nobody's business.

Now that's what I call living life.  I just hope when I'm 80 that I'll be just as high-spirited.

CSM

A View of the Town: Episode 16 -- Mrs. Abigail Symons Simmons

Welcome to  A View of the Town , the adventures of Dr. Willis Fletcher in a small coastal town in Maine. Offering tidbits of local color and...