One of the really great things I get to do as a dean is observe faculty in the classroom. It is a task (and a gift) that I don't take lightly. It is a great, important space, and I am continually impressed with what I see and learn in these classrooms.
A few weeks ago, I was observing an English as a Second Language class and they were talking about the meaning of words that indicate an amount or how many. Next they talked about how to make plurals, like one deer, two deers, one fish, two fishes. Not really, but you get the idea, and it did confirm once again that English has to be the most confusing language to learn, and it made me think about how we measure those words and phrases like "a lot" or "many" or "some."
I think that this has been important to me today because I learned that Dick Stroede, a good friend, a mentor and one of the best souls I have ever had a chance to know and to learn from, passed away from pancreatic cancer, surrounded and comforted by his family. As I reflected on this loss, I was struck at once how many numbers are associated with his passing.
Yesterday, I was literally on my way to Ohio to attend commencement at Defiance College but about 100 miles into the trip, a friend called to tell me that he was struggling and would not be at graduation. It would have been his 45th commencement at Defiance and he so wanted to be there. And hundreds wanted and wished him to be there, too, for he was to be honored and showered with love and praise, for all of us knew that he would not be at his 46th ceremony.
What, I wonder, is the measure of a man but the number of people that he can and does touch in his life? If that is the case, then Dick met that measure and then some. His family, the pair that he and his wife made for 49 years and 11 months, and his two children are the start. The bunch of close friends who sang and played and taught and laughed and no doubt cried and grew old together and shared countless memories knew his measure. So did the crowd of faculty colleagues from a five decade career who treasured and, to continue the theme, counted on him for good humor, steadfast friendship and many other things both large and small. Thousands of students sat at his feet and learned from him in many spaces, including classrooms, halls. churches, auditoriums, orchestra pits, and choir lofts. Tens of thousands heard the millions of notes that he played, sang and directed over the span of his career, for much of his life was closely tied to the numbers that make music work. One can only imagine the incredible number of souls he touched in all these ventures in his 70 years on this earth. That he continued to teach and to reach out and lead and comfort with his blog, http://www.maestro-anewadventure.blogspot.com even as he faced challenges and obviously numbered days just confirm all of this.
I am but one of those he touched, and I am saddened by the loss of this soul. I grieve, but I also know that I (all of us) should really celebrate a life that did touch so many people. I am sitting here with a simple meal of good bread, cheese, a great pear and a very large glass of wine and it comforts me. Music is playing loudly and it moves and touches me. And I can't think of one single way better to remember and celebrate an important meaningful life.
Rest in peace...
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