I have now had breakfast with two of the very first students I saw in homeroom, the very first day I was a teacher. I wish I could win the Mega Millions, because I think I would just start my own reunions!! Every day could be a entire class, the original homeroom W15, Algebra I in E14 at Nerinx, the freshmen honors geometry class at Priory room 197, my eighth grade class at Loyola the day of 9/11, my advisory table at Loyola, the advisory group at Nerinx, when we made Lasagna and had an Italian dinner while the other students bought subway. So many great memories.
So I started teaching at Nerinx when Debbie was a sophomore. At the same time, I was coaching St. Dominic Savio in a CYC high school league. So Holly, Mary Kay, Berta, Michele, Gina, Colleen, and Julie were on my team we played against St. Michael's and Debbie was playing on that team. Every time she saw me she laughed out loud. The ball went out of bounds and she got close to me and laughed. That was when I nicknamed her the Happiest Kid In America. She has kind of always been that to me. Now I know she has had her own struggles and her own obstacles, but she still greets many people in her life with a smile or a laugh. That is selfless. Selfless. Knowing that things are not always perfect, but you present yourselves to others with a sweetness and a smile, so their day will be okay or maybe just a little bit better.
I try to smile at everyone I see, especially at my most usual hangout Quik Trip. I think it is important now in a divided country to greet every one the way Debbie would. I know I am not close to Debbie in smile or laughter, but I concentrated hard during breakfast and I am going to try to Ninja steal her personality and her smile. Of course, she won't lose any of her power, she is Debbie.
Another moment of Grace in my life. So I think it was 1998, and I was getting in my car outside of Humphrey's and on the other side of the street (the great side--the Cold Beer, No Flies side) Debbie was doing the same... or maybe she was just walking down the street. I know exactly where she was, she greeted me with a laugh and a smile. She knew she was HKIA at this time, and I asked her how the Happiest Kid in America was. She laughed and told me that she was going to spend a year as a Jesuit Volunteer in the JVC. Of course she would. For those of you who don't know the JVC's live in community and work with people on the margins in different cities.
They locate themselves "with the poor and the powerless and the voiceless. At the edges, we join the easily despised and the readily left out. We stand with the demonized so that the demonizing will stop. We situate ourselves right next to the disposable so that the day will come when we stop throwing people away.”
I think Debbie was probably getting $50 a month at that time for her service. It really is a wonderful step into adulthood. This is what community looks like.
Anyway back to Spring and Laclede, I asked Debbie when that started and she said "August." I said great that means you can work for me at Aim High for six week this summer. I have hired about 35 people in my life, and Debbie was the best person I have ever hired. And just like the Biloxi girls a decade later, she exceeded my very high expectations. Aim High was a six week Academic Enrichment program for students in the Maplewood and St. Louis City school districts. We had classes, and sports, and activities and all kinds of stuff. Debbie was my assistant and was constantly making me a better director and a better person for all of the middle schoolers. Debbie also had the ability to reach out and hug the crying kid or just listen to the students some time and encourage them to stay in school and be the best version of themselves. John Duvall was a high school student at the time. He knew what Debbie brought to the program. She did a great job of making the high school volunteers do their best and encouraged them also. It helped that a very cute college graduate was encouraging high school boys, but she did much more than that. I remember the last day when we had put the students on the school buses and some of our volunteers realized that Debbie would be unable to come back next year. I think one of them said, "How is this ever gonna work." We all needed Debbie. I often drove my car around campus to get to places quicker during the day. One of Debbie's task was just letting me know where my car was. She always knew, I almost never did.
Debbie's oldest is 13, which means I will have to keep going to Biloxi until she is 16 or 17, because I would love to see what her daughter would do to help those that need a smile, or watch her listen to the homeless as they tell their stories. I am expecting that the apple does not fall very fall from the tree. Biloxi 2022 I am counting down the days.
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