Reflection #15 (Only 1061 to go!): Getting Back On The Horse

Reflection #15 (Only 1061 to go!): Getting Back On The Horse      Just as singers must sing and dancers must dance, so teachers must teach...brace yourself.  I was prompted to write this reflection because of an email that I received yesterday from an alumnus. We’ll call him "Bob" (not even close to his real name). In a previous note, he had disclosed a couple of bad turns his life had taken...loss of job and end of his long marriage. Yesterday, his follow-up note was positive and up-lifting. (Wait! Do those two words mean the same thing?)  The problems still existed, but he had a “Life is what it is!” attitude as he sets about the task of dealing with them.

     In the late summer of 1969, Carmen Pintozzi had taken his team on a retreat...a pretty standard practice in those days...to help build team spirit.  He was a history teacher at Ignatius, and he was also the cross country coach. Since I was the A.D. at the time, I joined them, and one afternoon Carm and I were walking around the retreat house grounds chatting.  He was 30 years old with a wife and 3 kids, all under six years old.  While we walked, he was telling me his long range plan for the future.  Carm loved to paint (pictures; not walls) and he was pretty good at it.  When he retired, he wanted to move to Wisconsin, near a lake, and devote himself to that passion.  In January of that school year, Carm passed away unexpectedly from leukemia.  
     Carm's widow was understandably heart-broken with the loss of her wonderful husband, and frightened by what dangers might lie ahead, but she focused her attention on her children and created for them a rich and full life.  They learned well from their mother and have, in turn, each have met their own challenges head-on and persevered in a manner that has made their parents very proud.

      At the age of 20, Pat O’Mara contracted polio and was wheelchair bound for the next 30-plus years of his life.  Pat went on to become an outstanding teacher of math at Saint Ignatius, held many jobs at school, all the while being a loving husband and the father of six children.
      A favorite saying of mine (compliments of Jillian Luzzi) is: Define your life; don’t let your life define you.  If there had been a poster made with that saying, Pat’s picture would surely have been on it.

     I close with a quote from the Raispis/Spalding Clichés To Live By. This was originally penned by a newspaper columnist, Sydney J. Harris:  Life is the art of riding a horse backwards without reins, and learning to fall off without being trampled. There would be fewer personal catastrophes if we spent less time practicing the art of riding and more time practicing the art of falling.   I would add ...and getting back up on the horse.

Reflection #15(Only 1061 to go): Flying Under the Radar, Deux!

Reflection #14 (Only 1062 to go!): Flying Under the Radar, Deux 2     I was prompted to write about Ray Kizelevicus after I read an article in the Chicago Tribune. No, it wasn't an article about Mr. K (Forgive the informality, but I’m too old to write his whole last name every time I refer to him. I also don’t buy green bananas any more.), but it was written by Chris McNamara, class of ‘92. Chris is the Media Manager for Lincoln Park Zoo, and he has often written articles for the Trib. I sent Chris a note complimenting him on the article. He thanked me and added that Mr. Kizelevicus had been a big influence on his becoming a professional writer.
     About the same time, Tony D’Sousa, also of the class of ‘92, showed up to speak to one of Ray’s classes. Tony had spent some time in the Peace Corp, and wrote a book about his experiences, receiving several awards for his work. In conversation with Ray, other authors' names came up, all of whom had been his students and all of whom were now earning a living, and some acclaim, as writers. A few continue to stay in touch with him.
     I was beginning to sense a "theme", and I wondered what there was about Ray Kizelevicus that had this effect on so many of his students. So I asked Chris for some help. He said,"...Mr. Kiz's straight forward approach, and his wry sense of humor helped make some of the dryer material more interesting." (Thanks, Chris.)
     That made sense, but I had the feeling that there must be more. I tried to think of a word or description that would encapsulate what I knew of Ray. I think I have it: GOOD! Ray is a good guy, a good teacher, a good Ignatian, a good family man. In each case, the word “good” could easily be replaced by “great”. The sum total of all of these “goodness’s” made me conclude that Ray is just a good person.     Ray, the “good guy” is a man with whom I feel comfortable sitting and chatting, but also someone I know that I could go to if I needed help. He would extend himself far beyond all reasonable expectations. Over the years, several times he has been asked to step up to deal with problems that have developed at school. For example, a few years ago, he was asked to step in as moderator for the yearbook which had been neglected. As usual he took over the recovery effort and did a masterful job.
      Though Ray didn't go to Ignatius, I still consider him the “good Ignatian”.  In addition to his official job as English teacher, at one time or another, he has served as coach for the freshmen baseball, the bowling team and the chess team. He has been the moderator of the photography club, coordinator of Open House and the Walk-For-Ignatius, and he was the uniform manager for the Athletic Department. If other teachers are considered “corner stones” of the school, Ray is definitely the “mortar”...really good mortar.  He has often been called on to fill in many of the gaps in order to hold things together.
     Evidence of Ray, the “good man”, combined with Ray the “good family man”, is his commitment to the service projects. In 1993, he was “recruited” by his daughter, Laura, to be as a moderator on a school-sponsored service project to a poor community in Pennsylvania. Since then, he has gone on 15 more service projects in the United States and gone to Guatemala six times, including three times on his own. His daughters, Laura and Cheryl, have accompanied him as chaperones several times.
     Only his wife, Barb, knows if under his “Clark Kent” outfit, he has a red cape and a capital “S“ on his chest, but she isn’t telling.
     Ray, thanks for all you mean to Saint Ignatius.