Full Sturgeon Moon – August The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.
I lost track of the moon cycle this month because we had so much rain in the days prior to it…sorry! And I had my story all set last week when I attended a fund-raiser that one of John’s friends had for him…where wonderful friends of ours served as bartenders … which was sooo much fun! The only, and I do mean only good thing about losing John is the realization that we are blessed beyond what we deserve in the friends department.
And my story this month came from that night…the head of the drama department came to this event and kindly told me that he has been teaching for 23 years and of all the students he had..John was really special; and he said he knew it even then. This surprised me because I know that the rest of the teaching staff at Hamilton Wenham Regional High School didn’t like him at all (see previous story about the National Honor Society) AND I had heard the story from John’s friend Matt (who was hosting the event) several days before when he informed me that John almost caused the play HMS Pinafore to be canceled because he was constantly dragging the “sailors” ( of which he was one) off to the music room to play music instead of practicing!!! Matt was the poor kid who had the lead..so he had to learn lines and songs and here was John…just goofing around and getting the rest of the gang to follow …throwing the serious actors into fits!!! They told me that they figured the solution was to just let John adlib every night…he was given some loose parameters and he was to just do his thing…and …as Matt reported…he stole the show!!! Well, I went to every one of the performances and he really did not steal the show but those sailors were very funny and it was clear that they were having fun…which is what you want to see in a play…but until just now I had no idea he was such a pain in the neck!
The funny thing is…Matt still had a fundraiser for him…all on his own! And his teacher still came to it!!! On a Thursday night!!! You really have to wonder how John did it…how he got everyone to love him in spite of all his antics!! I have decided that somehow John just knew what was important in life and didn’t worry about the little things…but you really have to admire the people who just knew he was worth the trouble…I am so happy he had those people in his life…kids deserve that…and those people have the gift of his story to tell now…and they were a part of it…and can take credit for making him the superstar he became. The one that record company executives and recording artists loved too…the one who could inspire someone to drive from Ohio to his funeral because “he was so kind to take the time to make me feel what it was to be part of his world.” I have many more stories but will save them for future blogs…my point this month is to take the time to try to see beyond the actions of people…you just may be surprised at what you find!! I wish you luck on this…cause if you find someone special – it is so worth the ride…and you will be laughing all the way !
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In an effort to find a way that I could honor Johnny and make him proud of me, I have decided that on every full moon I would ask everyone I know to try to remember to do one, small, act of kindness.
3 comments:
Paula,
I wait each month for these blogs to learn more about John. I'm certain I never would have known the many facets of his life otherwise. Thanks for sharing the stories.
The year was 1971 and I headed off to BSC as a freshman. It was a new world and I knew few people. In one of my classes was one of the prettiest girls I had ever see with an infectious smile, bright blue eyes and adorable dimples. We talked and I wished so much that she thought I was as special as I thought she was. We came to be friends...nothing more. We even danced the Polka at the Octoberfest dance!
She had a boyfriend who (I think) went to Providence College and she needed to buy him a birthday gift--but she had no money. Well...I had a job pumping gas on Saturday nights in Fall River. I offered to pay her my wages for the night if she wanted to work with me. We would probably still be only friends but I would get to spend some time with her. She accepted. As the night wore on, she took out her knitting (or, was she crocheting?) and sat and talked quietly with me as she created something. Could anyone really be that special? At the end of the night I went to hand her $10 but she hesitated. I insisted...a deal was a deal. She left and I don’t know what she bought for him. I do know that, sometime that year, we saw each other for the last time--we talked for the last time. I did not return the next year as I tried to figure out what to do with my life. I even married for awhile but that did not work out then. When I did return two years later, I assumed she was a senior but I never saw her again.
I graduated, got an advanced degree and went on with my life. A wonderful wife, three great kids and a career. Once in awhile I would sit on Facebook and plug in the names of old friends. One in awhile I would plug her name in...but she never popped up. Then, the other day, I thought I would just plug her name into Google with whatever else I could remember--which was only that she was from Peabody. Then...there she was. How I wished I had not done that when I saw the nature of the article. She, too, had married and had a child whom she adored. Only, now he was gone. I felt a haunting emptiness to realize that my friend from so long ago had endured such pain after all these years. Yet, I felt a sense of wonder that I would get to communicate with her now...only to tell her how dreadfully sorry that I am for the pain that she and her family have borne. And...how after all these years, this blog proves beyond doubt that she is as special a person as I always knew she was.
Maybe you are not that Paula Brophy. Maybe you are and you have none of these memories. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that, whoever you are, you have touched me with your courageous outlook on life and, in that way, have taught me something...so many years after we were freshmen at a State College in Massachusetts.
May your beloved John Ryan Pike rest in eternal peace and may you and your family be blessed by countless acts of kindness.
Dave Oliveira
The year was 1971 and I headed off to BSC as a freshman. It was a new world and I knew few people. In one of my classes was one of the prettiest girls I had ever see with an infectious smile, bright blue eyes and adorable dimples. We talked and I wished so much that she thought I was as special as I thought she was. We came to be friends...nothing more. We even danced the Polka at the Octoberfest dance!
She had a boyfriend who (I think) went to Providence College and she needed to buy him a birthday gift--but she had no money. Well...I had a job pumping gas on Saturday nights in Fall River. I offered to pay her my wages for the night if she wanted to work with me. We would probably still be only friends but I would get to spend some time with her. She accepted. As the night wore on, she took out her knitting (or, was she crocheting?) and sat and talked quietly with me as she created something. Could anyone really be that special? At the end of the night I went to hand her $10 but she hesitated. I insisted...a deal was a deal. She left and I don’t know what she bought for him. I do know that, sometime that year, we saw each other for the last time--we talked for the last time. I did not return the next year as I tried to figure out what to do with my life. I even married for awhile but that did not work out then. When I did return two years later, I assumed she was a senior but I never saw her again.
I graduated, got an advanced degree and went on with my life. A wonderful wife, three great kids and a career. Once in awhile I would sit on Facebook and plug in the names of old friends. One in awhile I would plug her name in...but she never popped up. Then, the other day, I thought I would just plug her name into Google with whatever else I could remember--which was only that she was from Peabody. Then...there she was. How I wished I had not done that when I saw the nature of the article. She, too, had married and had a child whom she adored. Only, now he was gone. I felt a haunting emptiness to realize that my friend from so long ago had endured such pain after all these years. Yet, I felt a sense of wonder that I would get to communicate with her now...only to tell her how dreadfully sorry that I am for the pain that she and her family have borne. And...how after all these years, this blog proves beyond doubt that she is as special a person as I always knew she was.
Maybe you are not that Paula Brophy. Maybe you are and you have none of these memories. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that, whoever you are, you have touched me with your courageous outlook on life and, in that way, have taught me something...so many years after we were freshmen at a State College in Massachusetts.
May your beloved John Ryan Pike rest in eternal peace and may you and your family be blessed by countless acts of kindness.
Dave Oliveira
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