.....Yesterday I found this email in my inbox and I was astounded! I did not have Christine in any of my classes, and I am sorry that I do not remember her...I suppose if she was 17 when she graduated in 1966 she must be pushing 60 by now. I am terribly sorry that I did not have her in my class. I have no memory of any of my high school teachers, and I find it hard to understand how former students remember the names of some of their teachers after so many years, and how they have been influenced by them. (Governors, take notice). Bruce Mooney, to whom she refers, obviously had a role in how she shaped her life. I hired Bruce to take charge of the drama department, and he was a master teacher--much loved by his students. I have no clue as to how Christine "tripped over" my blog--by accident! I'm glad she did; and I wish her a very productive retirement.
.....Dr. Ross, I literally tripped over your blog by accident while Googling my way to Bruce Mooney. I graduated from North Shore in 1966. I didn’t have you, so you won’t remember me, but memories of you and the high esteem so many of my friends had for you lingers. I have been teaching in North Carolina for thirty-two years and am retiring at the end of this year (!!!!). As with your lovely student, I MUST tell Mr. Mooney of the life-long influence he has provided me, and now I must add you to that list. We had a glorious school, didn’t we? Drama, theatre, Shakespeare…the freedom to be joyously geeky….were great gifts. You had a reputation as a Shakespearean and an actor that impressed. I have tried to give my students at least some of that, having taught in the N.C. prison system for a time, at the NC governor’s School for thirteen years, and two large public schools for the last twenty-five, finishing up at NorthWEST High in Guilford County, a proud (and quite exhausted) VIKING. Funny how that works, isn’t it? I have studied the teaching of Shakespeare at the Globe in London with other English teachers for two summers and am known here as quite the “Weird Sister.” You helped plant seeds for that joy, along with Mr. Mooney and Mr. Haulenbeck. I still e-mail my oldest friend (our mothers went to high school together in the 1930’s) Bette Nyhlen Basilevski, and her mother, Agnes, who at 92 has every memory intact and is a delight to me always. I shall add your blog to my “Must-reads”, and thank God for the serendipity that led me there this afternoon. With joy, Christine Chambers-Merriman
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Most important, the happiest of birthdays to Doc Ross, who claims to be 87 but does not look a day over 86.
ReplyDelete47 years ago, to this very day, The Baron called me very late at night. He was at an English convention and was mourning that he was 40 long before he was prepared for same.
I suspect that he wanted me to do something about this sad state, and if it were within my power, I would have indeed taken years off the clock.
Nevertheless, Doc has made good use of his time as you can see by the appreciative emails that pour into his email boxes from grateful students.
The Barons did miss someone special in Christine Chambers who was not a geek but rather infused with artistic sensibilities. Agnes Nyhlen, a lovely woman in every way, was secretary to the A.D., for which Moose Reardon was very grateful.
Bette Nyhlen was one of the great all-time beauties of NSHS, but she spells her name BasilevskY. Peter, whom the Doc will remember, was the nephew of Baron Wrangel, the man in the Hathaway eye patch. And so it goes.
One more time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOC ROSS, and may the upcoming year bring you joy and good health. God bless NRR, everyone who reads this, and certainly, the U. S. of A.
Since you haven't posted in a few days - it's now FEB 27th - and I wonder if Baron will pass HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to NORMAN, aka daddio, aka Pop!
ReplyDeleteSince temporal matters are beneath the notice of a spiritual creature such as the Baron, let us join together to wish DR. NORMAN ROSS:
ReplyDeleteTHE HAPPIEST OF ALL POSSIBLE BIRTHDAYS IN THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS.
Dr. Ross,
ReplyDeleteI was not sure if I left the correct blog address, so I'm writing this extra bit. My email is
carolmarkel@nyc.rr.com
Others in my class were Gail Kern Paster, Howard Paster, Bob McKie, Alfred Jones, Tanya Yonov and Ricky Zimmerman. Gail had a very illustrious career teaching Shakespeare at Georgetown and as Director of the Folger Library in Washington. Howard had an equally great career working for Bill Clinton, among other things.