April 26--Purple Stride and Prom

I spent Saturday morning at the Purple Stride Walk to raise funds to combat pancreatic cancer. I joined this because Curt Ehrenstrom, Golden Apple Recipient and long time teacher at Mt. Carmel High School was stricken with this awful disease. Curt has not been able to participate in the events of Golden Apple during the last year because of his struggle with the disease and the effects of the treatment.  He has had a very tough year.  He has been missed by the other members of the Golden Apple Class of 2013.

Curt receiving the award from Gloria Harper and Dominic Belmonte

I did not know what to do to be of support to Curt. I have prayed for him and his family and tried to drop a note when I could. I did not know Curt before the Golden Apple Award but I felt some kinship with him because of the Fellowship. Perhaps a little more because he and I were the two teachers from Catholic schools. Curt and I know several people in common, including the late Fenwick swimming coach Dave Perry who died too young of cancer a few years ago.

When I discovered that Curt's sister Jane was putting a team together to walk in the Purple Stride event, that was my answer of how I could try to be of some small help.  Jane did an incredible job recruiting over 80 walkers from her family and from the Mt. Carmel community.  Her efforts helped to propel the team to second place in fundraising for pancreatic cancer. This made us an "Elite Team" with our own tent and plenty of scarves and beads. I am very grateful that I was able to raise over $600 and become one of the highest contributors on the team.  My gratitude goes to a number of members of the Golden Apple family, including Board Members, staff, and Fellow, who generously donated to the cause. It also extends to a student I taught in the late 1970's who is always a reminder of why I love to teach.  All of these wonderful benefactors allowed me to be a significant part of the team effort.

Pancreatic cancer is a terrible disease, in part because it is so hard to detect until it is advanced. The survival rate is not good and the treatment is debilitating.  I spent some time talking to one of Curt's brothers and he filled me in on what a tough time it has been.  He told me that it is not just a question of having a good day occasionally. Sometimes, it is a matter of having a good hour or so and then Curt will feel bad and tired and need to retire.

Curt's sister had initially thought he might be able to join us after the walk but his health was not up to that.  That was too bad. I know he would have enjoyed seeing everyone. He was sending text messages to his family in the hour or so before the walk began. That is a good indication of how much he would have liked to be part of things.

I feel as if I should draw some moral from all of this and I don't know what might be besides the obvious ones.  Curt's brother John said yesterday, rather wistfully, "Poor Curty. He was right at the peak of everything and he got hit with this."  I saw an interview with Curt where he said some people wonder if he says, "Why me?"  He said that he responds, "Why not me?"  The question of theodicy is at the center of the course I am taking in "Love and Evil."  I think most people make the assumption, at least I do, that life should proceed without trouble and suffering. We are surprised when illness, death, and tragedy intrude. It is becoming clearer and clearer to me that pain and disappointment are part of the natural course of things.  This is not a painful world but there is pain in it.  Life was not made for suffering but there is suffering in life.

What defines us is the way we live this mystery.  I suppose saying how we respond to the suffering is the most accurate expression although it seems not to express the complexity of what it means to endure hardship. In this definition, Curt (Coach E everyone calls him) is a man of meaning, purpose, and nobility.  He has been badly struck down and has reacted with humor, grace, and dignity.  I am probably reading some of my own biases on to this story but I think that this illness has shown the qualities that made Curt a great teacher, a true Golden Apple teacher.  Perhaps there is also some grace to be found in his years of teaching in a faith-based school. In any case, it has been an honor to know Curt and it was my privilege to walk in Purple Stride in his honor.

In the evening, I changed gears completely and went to the Fenwick Junior Prom. I have not seen my students since the last day of third quarter--the day before I began the sabbatical.  There is not a lot to say here except how much I enjoyed greeting them all again.  One after another ran up to tell me how much he / she missed me.  I told them truthfully that I missed them very much too. I am enjoying the sabbatical very much and my classes at Northwestern are a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but I was reminded how much life and joy I get from my students.  The prom was fine.  I always hate thinking of myself as an old fogey but the music was unintelligible to me and deafeningly loud. Late in the evening, the DJ switched to Neil Diamond singing "Sweet Caroline."  I think Neil Diamond is pretty cheesy but the song was welcome.  The students don't dance much, even compared to a few years ago. Hundreds of them stood in a big clump and watched a few guys perform. When they did all dance, they seemed to just jump up and down. Old fogey time: I found myself wishing for a garage-rock band playing "Louie, Louie" and couples dancing the watusi.  But--it is not my prom, it is theirs.  While they all came with dates, they seemed to lose their partners as soon as they came in.  Most of the evening, the crowd was divided into groups of boys and groups of girls.  A few brave (or just in love) souls stayed coupled.  All of the girls discarded their shoes as soon as they entered. Another teacher notice one girl who still had her shoes on but that girl gave in to either peer pressure or sore feet and put hers against the wall after a bit.

19th Century Club was the site of the Junior Prom. The snow was gone though.

The school holds a separate Junior and Senior Prom. Even though this younger version is to be less formal, most of the boys wear tuxes and the girls have very fancy dresses (with no shoes.) There is no dinner, just some appetizers.  I think the kids go out to dinner after the dance, which they fled at 10:00.  About ten faculty members supervised from the fringe of the dance floor. The President, a Dominican in full white habit, got pulled onto the dance floor and gamely tried a few moves.  He should learn not to stand that close to the action.

The only other event at Fenwick that I am planning on attending during the sabbatical is graduation.  I will not teach these Juniors again, except for the one or two who might land in my Film class next year.  They are a wonderful group and I miss their discussions and insights.