Reflection #38 (Only 1058 to go!): What a month!!!

     I have been "lax" in posting my blog for the last month. My excuse: This has been a very busy and very stressful month. Besides teaching summer school, I attended three graduations, two of my grandchildren's and the Ignatius graduation.
     At the Ignatius graduation, I was honored to have received an award from the school, celebrating my 50 years of service. As a part of the honor, I was allowed to give a short speech, and it seemed to be well received. Anyone that knows me, knows how much I love to speak, but this certainly added to what made the month "busy and eventful".
     I was going to take the easy route and post my speech as my next blog, but Ryan Bergin beat me to it. He posted the speech on the Ignatius web-site. The theme was to encourage the graduates, as they go through life, to think for themselves. There is no shame in making a mistake or having an incorrect opinion, as long as you assess your thoughts, and correct the flaws when they are discovered. For the poor soul who gets taken in by some slick, smooth talking "snake oil salesmen", then spends time and effort trying to justify his error, there is no honor.
     I already mentioned that, after the Jubilarian Mass and reception, Frank and I visited Joan Terracina, the former assistant to several of the school's treasurers in the second half of the 20th century. I've made it a point to either call her or visit her just to make sure that she knows that she is not forgotten. FYI, she's doing well in her retirement. She needs a little help getting around, but at a "fine" age, she's good.
     Last week, Wednesday, June 27, was the annual Ignatius Golf outing which honoed Joe Gentile for his tremendous support of our school.
     The stressful part: The big (and bad) news at school is that Frank Raispis fell and hurt himself. For the two days following the fall, he was doing well, but he had broken some vertabra in his neck and they had to be surgically repaired. Immediately afterwards, he had a very serious reaction to the surgery itself, and confined to lying on his back for about four weeks with some pretty heavy doses of meds.
     Happily and thankfully, he is now in a rehab facility and receiving therapy. At 85 years old, Heaven only knows how long his complete recovery will take, but at least he’s on the mend.

     I’ve got a few other blog topics lined up for the near future. One is a blog that Dr. Jane Delaney wrote while on a working trip to China. The other was prompted by Maria Dunne, class of ’83. Maria’s email to me reminded me that I had wanted to tell about the experience of going from an all-boys school to co-ed.

>Well, I've got three more weeks of teaching, so I may be a little sluggish yet again. I fully intend to procrastinate, but I'll do that tomorrow.