The Battle Continues!

This was pretty exciting stuff for everyone –me especially!  The very first niece in our family was about to be christened and my big brother chose me to be the godfather!  Maybe that has a lot to do with why I have always felt a special bond with Angie.  Had I known then that someday in the distant future, I would be the one to officiate at her wedding -that would really have blown me away!  In any event, I remember being in the kitchen with Mom the evening before and talking about the ritual that would take place at the local parish church.  And this is when she made sure to remind me that I would be expected to either say a few words, or repeat some religious lines after the priest.  Please keep in mind, this was smack dab in the middle of my stage-fright crisis –and you guessed it, panic set in at full throttle!  All I could think about was how to get out of it.  I was totally convinced I would never be able to open my mouth in front of all my family and friends in that church without making an absolute fool of myself.

I knew what I was about to do wasn’t going to be any less humiliating, but I couldn’t see any way out.  I went to my room, and with closed door, I began to write this long letter to Frank and Janet, apologizing for my desertion.  The next morning, I handed it to my Mother to pass on to them.  Before she had a chance to say anything, I walked straight out of the house and headed for the bushes.  That too, was a very long day.

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If I had been a teacher,…  You have no idea how often I’ve had that thought run through my mind.  If I had been a teacher, I would have looked for every conceivable way to help those kids overcome their fears.  I would have shown them that I was on their side.  I would have worked patiently with them and cared for them through their anxieties.  I would have ….  Truth of the matters is, I probably wouldn’t have done any different.  We are often so oblivious to the misery other people are going through.  My English teacher decided it was time for his students to practice oral speeches.  I’m sure all of you remember that class, and not all that fondly.  For me, well I have no words to describe what it did to me.  Here was another reason for me to visit the great outdoors along Witson Creek.  Finally, the teacher came up with a novel idea: “Any kid who missed out in oral speech, be advised!  Sixty percent of your English exam will consist of your marks for oral speech.  You miss out on oral speech and you lose an automatic 60% of your final exam for the year.”  I’ve often thought afterword, “Now there’s a solution for a student who couldn’t do anything about it, even if it counted for 100% of his exam!”  One thing about this teacher, he was true to his word.  I ended up with less than 40% for a final grade.

By the time I reached the 11^th grade, I had had enough.   On the first day of class, I remember sitting in one class room where the teacher had each one of us stand and say our names.  I did manage to do that, but the effect was always the same.  I knew I couldn’t go on like this anymore.  At lunch time, I returned home and told both my Mom and Dad that I would not be going back to school, ever again, it didn’t matter what they thought of the idea.  They never said a word.  They seemed to understand.

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How did I ever manage to get married?  That too, was an adventure in itself.  Fortunately, the girl that I was madly in love with loved me unconditionally.  She agreed that we would have a very quiet ceremony.  Everyone would be asked to not come to the church for the ceremony except for Robert and Yvonne who stood as witnesses, the organist and the priest.  We would meet with the rest of the family later at Janice’s parents’ home just a few blocks away.  Everyone agreed, except for Aunt Alice who was determined that nobody was going to keep her from attending Mass!  Janice and I were so happy that day, we really hardly took notice of her.  Our family and friends were incredibly patient and gracious.  No one gave us a hard time.  They just wanted us to be happy.  God gave us so many loving people in our lives.  I can’t think of anything more important.

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We hadn’t been married very long when life took a sudden turn –one that would forever change the course of our lives.  Frank and Janet got religion.  And we wouldn’t be too far behind.  We were about to witness the hand of God in ways we would never have imagined possible.  Deliverance was at hand… in more ways than one.  Part III