MAKING SPECIAL TIMES SPECIAL

T’was the dance before Christmas, and all through the hall
Everything was decorated for the Christmas Ball
The mistletoe was hung by the doorway with care
In hopes that the dates would soon be there.

The kids started arriving at the front door
While visions of romance awaited the dance floor
Brother Grover in his track shoes, Jensen in his cap
Had just jogged in from their two mile lap.

When in the back of the room there arose such a clatter
We sprang from our seats to see what was the matter
Away to the kitchen we flew like a flash
Tore open the doors after undoing the latch.

The light on the crest of the unwaxed floor
Gave a luster to the objects we saw through the door
What to our wondering eyes did appear
But an Institute Teacher playing ping-pong there.

A cute little man, so quick and so lively
We knew in a moment, it must be Bill Riley
More rapid than eagles his kids they all came
And he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

Now Cevin, now Sean, now Troy and Brendan
On Rynn, on Erin – He called out to them
To the back of the table, in front of the wall
They all grabbed paddles and started hitting the ball.

Then in a twinkle, we heard through the wall
The running and jumping of feet in the hall
As we turned our heads and looked all around
Grover and Jensen jumped in with a bound.

They were dressed all in sweats from their heads to their feet
And both looked quite nervous, starting their meet
With brand new paddles, they both had in hand
We all started cheering and taking the stand.

They spoke not a word but went straight to the match
When Riley got ahead he was sure hard to catch
Then Jensen, laying the ball right into the net
Gave Billy the point which he knew he would get

After winning the game to his kids gave a shout
They all jumped the net as each one ran out
But we heard him exclaim and without any mumble
‘When you’re as great as I am, it’s hard to be humble!’

Without any reservation I can boldly proclaim that I will have to wait for my corrupted mind to have the shadows of forgetfulness removed before I will be able to recall who wrote the preceding parody or the exact events to which it refers. In fact, I am pretty sure it is based on a collection of events and not just one Christmas Ball at the Reno, Institute of Religion. In fact, I am positive we never had a dance at the Institute when any of the instructors came dressed in sweats or my children jumped over the net on the ping-pong table. If pressed I would guess that whoever wrote this delightful ditty was involved at the Institute in the later part of the 1970’s or the early part of the 1980’s. I would be filled with endless joy if anyone who reads this Thought would be able to fill in any of the missing details.

When Kathleen first showed me this long lost document last week, we both had images of long ago delightful experiences pass through our minds. During the week since that initial reminder, each time I have glanced at the tattered original copy of what I will label ‘Night at the Institute Christmas Ball’ it has opened my mind to an avalanche of eventful memories which have enriched our lives and filled them with joy.

I have also spent some time pondering about what it is, for me, that makes special times special and have come up with the following, which I am sure constitute only a partial list.

WHO

Those with whom I share an event will always head the reason it will be special and will remain special in my memory. Those included in this category are called family, friends, mentors, students, colleagues, team members etc. Probably even more important than the title by which they are identified is the attitude they bring to the event and the positive contribution they make.

WHERE

I only have to spend a few minutes in thinking about the special times of my life before I realize the places they happened was of paramount importance. One of the ‘old man’ things I do as Kathleen and I are enjoying watching television in the evenings is to say ‘been there’ when it is appropriate to where the scene is taking place. Along with realizing the marvelous gift we have been blessed with to travel to some of the wondrous places of this planet, as I express these words comes at least brief memories of the special times we had in those places. Even those which were not so special at the time, now with the passing of time, fill my heart with gratefulness.

ATMOSPHERE

Since calm and peaceful have always been much more attractive to me than noisy and riotous; ballads make events more special than grunge, mountains and beaches are more special than cities and clubs and respectful exchanges are more memorable than heated arguments. As years have passed I have come to realize that large groups deenergize me while the more intimate the gathering the more I feel myself being reenergized. This is one area where I am pretty sure that the atmosphere that multiplies the specialness of events for me will probably be different than many who are reading this Thought.

UNIQUENESS

It doesn’t have to be a once in a life time event to qualify for uniqueness, but repetition has a tendency to make things common and non-memorable. However, there are times when a like event is made unique because it is shared with a different group of WHO. or in a different WHERE, or the ATMOSPHERE has changed. Although I probably stood in front of thousands of groups as an instructor there was always a uniqueness to the experience, although some are more remembered as being more special because they were more unique. It is always remembering ‘that one time’ which indelibly engraves oft times repeated events on our minds and hearts as special.

I hope the list I have made will act as a stimulus for each reader to begin their own list as a reminder that stuff is only stuff and special-ness comes from much more important stimuli.

I hope that with but a few days remaining before we culminate the wonderful days of celebration which started for some with Halloween, some with Thanksgiving, but for all will end with the ushering in of the New Year, you will add to your already over filled ‘to do list’, which has been filled with shopping, decorating, wrapping etc. the more important things that for you will make the coming days special.


THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY

THINK + PLAN + PREPARE + DO + HUGS + PEACE + JOY + LOVE + INTEGRITY + FAITH + HOPE + CHARITY = THE GOOD LIFE