The first time I met Bonnie she had a plan. She came up to me, for some reason I remember all the details-- I think because it was kind of extraordinary for a high school student to do. She approached me right when I was leaving the glass entrance at Nerinx by the gym. She told me that she really wanted to go to Biloxi with us, but she was told she could not go because of soccer. She then said one of her friends said Mr. Magee would help. Well she had me right there. I was ready to do what I could to make sure she got to Biloxi. Maybe Bonnie started it all. I have said that if a young person wants to spend the first week of their summer vacation helping others we would find a way to get them to Biloxi. The interesting thing was this was the first ever Biloxi trip, and I was not close to being in charge. But she was very determined in her ask, and I was determined to help her. I think in the end, I said that if the soccer team progresses through the playoffs, I would be willing to drive a day later to get Bonnie to the service trip. And that really is how it all began.
So now I know Bonnie, but before that first Biloxi trip I really did not. I came up with the bright idea (who knew it would be so much work) of giving each girl on the trip a nickname. I thought Bonnie was a great goalie, so I also decided that a flying squirrel would be a great goalie. So to spruce it up, I changed it to spanish. So she was ardilla del vuelo (might have been ardelita del vuelo). But here is the thing if it was not for Bonnie and Karen and Jenna and Sarah and that crew. Or Sparky and the HBK and all the others, I would not still be going down to Biloxi. It was such a wonderful trip, about Tuesday I knew I was coming back in 2007. We worked hard, but also got a lot done. I remember the exact houses and the people we touched. I think the wonderful Eva May is no longer living, but I saw her and ate her fried chicken every year for at least five years until her health forced her to move elsewhere to be with family.
That was also the Katrina year and you could not believe the destruction we saw that year. Each house had a pile of debris in front of it about 8 feet high and about 20 feet wide. Bonnie and her crew soon learned how to put up sheet rock and new floors and soon the houses on Main and Elmer were close to living conditions. It was truly amazing to watch Bonnie and her classmates work. And they were all such great kids to hang around with. We had a good bunch of adults also with Ted Hellwig and Mr. Koch and Mr. Goetz amongst others.
Bonnie is a very driven and determined young woman. She has followed up on many different plans. Besides working full time, she is also a SHRED 415 instructor, that seems intense even without the capital letters. Of course, Bonnie would add being an intense workout trainer to an already busy life. If I had a small company, I would definitely make plans to hire Bonnie, she just always impresses me as someone who is going to work hard and do her best for her company.
Bonnie still keeps in touch with many of those first Biloxi girls and they are lifelong friends. I think I was in Columbia, MO of all places and a whole group invited me to join them for dinner. I remember being excited about their continued friendship. Karen Tobin just kind of told me, of course, I am still friends with Bonnie. How could I not be? Karen is a great kid in her own right, but she moved to North Carolina and this is about Bonnie. One of these days, I am going to have to organize a reunion for that first group and tell them about the legacy of service, a tradition of kindness that they started.
So I think everything, I have written would describe Bonnie as a Type A personality. She is also just that low maintenance, let's go get a beer person. I would post on Facebook about me bartending at the Black Thorn. Bonnie and her boyfriend, now husband, were probably the best at replying to those posts. They are great together and it was fun getting to see them every couple of months. Bonnie has the perfect partner for these adventures, because the two of them should be in the great friend-low maintenance--no worries Hall of Fame. I also knew that if I got busy behind the bar, Bonnie would understand and not feel hurt that I was working. Bonnie is always ready to be that friend, not only casually in my life, but I know that she would drop anything to be there for Lindsay or Karen or Amanda or any number of people.
Because a 17 year old young Nerinx student had the courage to walk up to the tall teacher she did not know 12 years ago, I am blessed with this "flying squirrel" in my life. Throughout this blog, I have challenged myself to be more out there, to start more conversations, to talk to strangers, etc. I just realized with Bonnie and I, I did not do too much. It was all Bonnie.
There was never a doubt in my mind, when I thought about this idea of 50 breakfasts, that Bonnie would reach out and be one of the 50. So I guess just be really tall and visible and be hanging outside a gym entrance and sometimes . . . one of the greatest people in your life will just wander up to you. She will impress you in the first five minutes and still impress you more than a decade later.
Here is the best part about Bonnie, even at Courtesy it started pretty close to this. Bonnie knows that I had some struggles and had some battles in my life. During that time, when I was her bartender and not her teacher, she always asked, "How are you doing?" Not just as a casual throwaway, she really wanted to know. Bonnie is just starting out on her journey and I just envision each year she will share a little bit more of her kindness and her friendship with the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment