Sunday, May 15, 2005

The Final Lesson

John's Weekend Assignment #59: Teachers Worth Remembering

Here it is: The assignment pre-empted by Mother's Day:

Weekend Assignment #59: We've all had teachers who have made a difference in our lives. Tell us about one of yours. It can be a teacher from any level of education, from kindergarten to graduate school.

When I met Dr Ernest Edwards, professor of music at ABAC I was a freshman in College.  For months I had heard of this distinguished man and read some of his poetry and stories.  I was acting in "Hold Me", by Jules Pfeiffer, he had come to practice piano, as he was leaving he came up to me and complimented me on something, and I thanked him.  He taught music appreciation.  I've had many wonderful teachers, that taught me many things.  But this lesson was something I learned and guess I'm still learning every day.  Music was never my best class, and was a class that I just had to take for my core curriculem.  So I never imagined I would learn something much larger than music.  I was a freshman in college, and actually became friends with a man who was friend with Dr. Edwards.  He invited me to have dinner with this man, I accepted, and fretted over how I would feel sitting down and breaking bread with someone so bright, a philosopher, a poet, a writer of song and stories.  Would I even be able to bring anything to the conversation.  So you can see I was scared of him at first.  I soon grew to know him for the wonderful person he is and will love him forever.  He used to call me "Beautiful One".  He's the beautiful one.  I learned a lot about life through him.  He wrote a short story that he had a very personal viewpoint which begins with the question- "If love is what we all want, then why are we so afraid of it."  He wrote of regardless of our earthly years our time here is quickly running out and how we must try to fill them with the best life has to offer.  His eyes have seen the light, the truth-he's seen houses decay, cars fall apart and realized they are only temporary.  Things that last are like he says, "the friends who have stood by us through the years, people who have loved us, and whom we have loved.  Things can be replaced, people cannot.  The smile, the touch of hand, the embrace of someone we love, and who loves us.  He's right. He helped shape a lot of my values in life.  His final lesson was "When all of life has been measured and sifted and simplified, we truly realize that nothing else matters as does love."  He was a teacher over thirty years, I havn't visited him in a while and need to make that a priority, I talk to him on the phones every now and then, but it's been a while.  He's in a retirement home, two of his best friends are there with him, Ralph and Betty.  But I had heard Ralph had died recently.  Blessings going out to Ernie!  He let me call him that too when he wasn't in class.  We became friends the years I went to ABAC.  He let me see a side of myself that wasn't that diffrent from anyone else.  He made me want to better myself.  I still more from my life.  Maybe Mike and I can go by and sit with him for a while on our way home this week Wednesday night.

Extra Credit: Tell us your second favorite subject in schoool.

English was my second favorite subject in school.  I loved writing, I was the top speller in my class.  :)  It was one of my best ways of expressing myself.  Know it's not part of the assignment, but History was my favorite subject in school.  Math was my least favorite.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think it is wonderful that you developed a friendship with him. He sounds like a good man.
Celeste