| 08/15/09 02:58 PM |
#34
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Brad Herring
OK folks.....here is the sappy side of me. The only other person I remember that was in my English class was Sue Bechtold. She might remember some of this but it has been 30 years and I can only remember Sue being in that class. Old age sucks people!
Anyway, I wrote this the other night and I thought I might share it with everyone here.....
In two weeks, I leave for Burlington, NC to celebrate my 30th
Anniversary class reunion of Williams High School. It has been a lot of fun catching up with friends and classmates, by way of the Internet. Realizing classmates I really didn’t associate with during my high school years, more times than not, turned out to be no different than me.
I’ve often thought about them over the years and briefly got a chance to spend some time with them during our 10th anniversary class reunion. I don’t know the reasons for missing the other reunions but it probably centered on not having the time at that moment. Sadly, I missed the chance to spend some time with them because several of them are no longer with us.
I recall meeting a few of them, by chance, here and there but we never exchanged contact information and soon lost touch again. Living life in today’s fast lane curses those who yearn for a slower pace of living and getting to know your neighbor(s). I’ve lost touch with that way of life but would love to capture it once again.
Missing are the teachers and staff who helped mold us into what we are today. Are they still in education? Are they as old and mean as I made them out to be? Do they remember me? Are they still living?
As I flipped through the pages of my senior yearbook, laughing mostly at the memories, I came across the picture of my senior English teacher, Debbie Dillon. I remember she was fresh out of college and this was her first year teaching.
She seemed a lot of older to me at the time but quite frankly, she could have been my older sister. I knew I was going to breeze through her class, never crack a book, and pass with flying colors. Wrong! Little did I know, she would be instrumental in changing how I approached certain problems and instill respect for other people.
First nine weeks was the “getting to know her” period where several others, including myself, tested her breaking points. I will say she was pretty good and had a high tolerance but eventually she had put her foot down and draw the line. Report cards came and I limped home with a D. Ouch!
Not long afterwards, maybe even before the ink from my parent’s signature dried on my report card, Miss Dillon took me aside during class one day and gave me a talk. It wasn’t a verbal lashing nor was it a threat of bodily harm but it was stern in nature and matter of fact. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I was trouble in the classroom but I do know my attitude played a great part in me not really caring.
She saw something in me that made her believe in me. She explained how important grades were to enter a college of my choice. She told me she had read my homework and test papers and knew I could do much better. She could sense I had potential to be a good student but needed encouragement and inspiration and it was her job to work with me and provide me with those things.
During the next three grading periods, I was able to bring my grade up to a low A. If anyone has ever done that then you know how hard it was.
She taught me to believe in myself then I could achieve whatever problems might arise later in life. She is also taught me to believe in other people. For that, I thank her although it comes 30 years later. Of all my teachers through school, she made the biggest impact on me by simply caring enough to want to help.
It’s often been said, if a coach is riding your tail during practice everyday because he recognizes your potential and wants you to achieve it on the field. If he never says anything to you, he knows you are a lost cause. Miss Dillon was a great coach in the classroom.
My family moved soon after graduation and I lost touch with virtually everyone associated with Williams High School. I never got a chance to thank her graduation day for what she had done for me and I how much I appreciated it.
I attended two years of college but did not graduate. During summer breaks from college, my brothers and I started a business. The second summer, business was excellent and there was so much more we could do, I opted to stay home and work the business. One brother got married and left the business almost immediately and the other left in 1986.
I’ve been self-employed since 1980 and it’s all I know. I never worked for the other person in my adult life. I’ve always depended on my ability to make the phone ring everyday and create something I enjoy doing.
I married in 1987 to none other than a teacher! A teacher that has the same enthusiasm and the uncanny ability to connect with her students. Every year, she receives several letters from former students graduating high school and college. The contents of those letters usually brings tears to her eyes as she sits and reads them. She always tells me, even after 25 years of teaching…. “Nothing can compare knowing you made a difference in someone’s life.” “These letters make it all worthwhile.”
I don’t know what became of Miss Dillon and have often wondered if she was still in the teaching profession. Certainly with a gift, such as hers, she would still be inspiring young adults to achieve their goals and dreams. I sure hope so because teachers like her are few and far between.
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