Another Diamond Day

Sometimes the days all run together, for better or for worse they all begin to seem like the same day over and over. Then sometimes something completely unexpected happens and my eyes get opened to reminders of my past, pleasant ones I would never want to forget. I was very lucky this month to have one of those diamond days.

We had plans for the evening, and it was a Friday. Rog's brother and wife, his two daughters and their husbands, and two grandchildren were all in town. We were invited to their sister's for dinner on Friday evening, all 35 of us! I'd decided I was enough away from my treatments of the month to take it easy on this Friday to conserve my little bit of energy still left, but a surprise phone call about 11 a.m. changed my mind about that.

It has now been ten years since I last taught, ten long years. One of the last big projects I had spearheaded at the school was called "Civil War Days." Because I taught 8th grade and that's when the Junior High kids learn American History, I had started the Civil War Days about three years prior to my retirement from MS. It had become an ongoing project, more being added to it each year. I had even gone to several sites around my state telling about how I got the project started along with the help of my 8th grade teaching team. But the last year I had taught had been the last year for the Civil War Days at school. Money had become the main reason, but nobody was really looking into different ways to get funds for continuing the project. It was a tremendous disappointment to me to know it was gone.

Much to my surprise, the voice on the other end of my phone call on that Friday morning turned out to be one of the teachers who had been a part of the teaching team during Civil War Days. She apologized for not letting me know earlier they were having Civil War Day that very day at the school, and did I remember Kevin?

Well of course I remembered Kevin. He was the first presenter I had found and gotten approval for to be part of our Civil War Days. Kevin is an interpreter of historical figures, and a Civil War Soldier from the North is one of his characters. He is a musician, also. I had him come in and do a presentation to all the 8th graders first thing in the morning, then he spent the rest of the day in my classroom doing the music of the Civil War playing his guitar and singing, telling stories as he stayed in character as the soldier. He was a wonderful talent, and great with kids, too.

The teacher on the phone said Kevin was there and wanted to talk to me. Imagine that! He remembered me! We talked a long time on the phone, he asked about the book I've written and how he could buy one, then invited me to somehow get out to the school for his closing presentation to the whole student body. Kevin knew about my MS, we had talked about it the last year we were there for Civil War Days. I told him I didn't know how I could manage. He was very understanding, but I hung up determined to somehow get there.

My first problem was my van with the scooter inside was at work with Roger. My daughter works most of the day on Fridays, but I thought I'd just give it a try anyway. I called her cell phone and left her a message, went ahead in to shower and wash hair and get all together just in case.... and what do you know, the phone rings and it's Emilie. I told her what was up and she was excited for me, insisted on coming over and taking me out to the school.

We didn't know if I could make it on just the walker or not, but we decided we'd give it our best try. She drove me as close as she could to the doorway, got me and my walker out of her van. I rang in at the door while she parked the van. We made it down the hall to the elevator, down the elevator to the gym, and thank God there were chairs along the wall so I could collapse onto one of them.

We had arrived just before the kids started filing into the gym. A couple of teachers that I'd worked with stopped to say hi and that was nice. Before long the announcement was made that there was a special guest and out through a door in the back of the gym came Kevin all decked out in his uniform carrying a rifle and looking like I believe any weary soldier would look. He spent his time talking to the kids, telling them about what it was like to be a Civil War soldier from Indiana, even showing them some hardtack from his pack. His varying serious demeanor and interspersed humor keep the kids captivated.

I was captivated, too, remembering all the good times we had doing the Civil War Days and how important Kevin had become in this short-lived tradition. I sat there hoping someone would be able to keep it going again.

After it was over the teacher who had called me came over, and I asked her if she'd ask Kevin to come and say hello. He did. He had changed out of the uniform and came over and talked for the longest time. I had taken along a copy of my book intending to give it to him, but he wouldn't let me. Instead he insisted he'd send me a copy of his latest music CD in exchange.

On the next Friday my CD arrived. It is a folk/country CD of original songs by Kevin, with him singing and playing his guitar, also playing harmonica. His son and a couple of others also accompany him on some of the songs. They are all his original songs, and his talent came home to me all over again.

It was another golden day. I was worn to a frazzle afterwards, but still made it to Rog's sister's for dinner with his family, and then out to eat with all of them the next evening. By Sunday I was spent, but I would not have traded that Diamond Day for anything in the world. Was I lucky, or what?

Reach Car by email to comment: carreynolds0291@sbcglobal.net

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