WALKING TALL

By Peter Vuono

     Many years ago Mother Teresa said, "Kind words are easy to say but their echoes are truly endless". I guess that's why I was so in love with a small college in MA called Massasoit Community College which is in SE Massachusetts. From 1973-1995 when I both went to school there and worked part time, I met a miasma of people who were kind, soft spoken, inspirational  and professional. I needed this back then as I was rather immature and at times, insolent. The names are too many to mention but if I had to categorize these  folks, I'd say that they all had the "It" factor.

    To me, the "It" factor is having all the physical, emotional and most importantly inspirational qualities of being a good and noble leader. People are drawn to these leaders  which is a great asset to those that meet them. On March 5th, I went to the retirement party of a young lady who definitely has the "It" factor- Mrs. Julie Mulvey.

    Julie is a tall person at over 6 feet and started her youth as a super athlete in the field of basketball.There was an opening at Massasoit for a basketball coach and athletic director Bruce Langlan(who also has the "It" factor) recognized one of his own and wisely hired Julie as coach.

As the time keeper or shot clock operator, I got to see Julie's style as a coach. She was so much more than that. She was always calm yet commanding of her "Warriors". She never lost her temper or raised her voice. I remember Bruce Lee once saying, "Be soft yet not yielding; be firm yet not hard". Julie must have read his book.

    I distinctly remember one of her teams  as being without question one of the roughest, toughest groups I had ever seen. These girls were so tough that they would go to a restaurant after practice and order broken leg of lamb. I remember many of them well from Brockton High. Yet Julie molded them without a single cross word into one of the best teams that his author had ever seen.

   When I first started at the clock in 1973 Coach Walter Birchler said at the sports banquet that the basketball table personnel were always unnoticed until they made a mistake. Julie caught me making one  at a game. I'm kind of quick on the trigger finger for the shot clock and this time too quick. Julie caught it and said,"Peter, that wasn't a shot". I replied, "I know, Julie, I'm sorry". To this she answered, "That's all right". She had enough understanding to know that I was just human and very capable of error but I never forgot how she refused to vilify me.
   Julie went on to spread her inspiration to other great venues such as director of student activities and athletic director. From 1981 to 2020 she touched legions of young showing them the Tao(or the Way).  She may be absent from school but as Mother Teresa stated, her echoes of kindness are "truly endless".


"The key to immortality is to live a life worth remembering"- Bruce Lee

ARE YOU HEARING THE SOUND OF THUNDER?

(A cautionary blog entry) By Peter Vuono

SOUND OF THUNDER IS A SHORT STORY BY RAY BRADBURY.

   In Chinese Taoism, the Yin and Yang represent two interlocking parts of a whole; Yang(whiteness) and Yin (darkness) The two forces, although they appear to conflict ,are actually interdependent. You may NOT have darkness without light and vice versa.. I have not delved into the internet stats but it is clear to me that there is becoming an imbalance of forces. Simply put, there is more and more evil being propagated in the world at perhaps a greater rate than goodness. This puts the two complementary forces out of balance.
   We are seeing acts of evil in the form of guns, drugs, pedophilia, human trafficking, hate crimes, bullying, denial of basic human rights violence against women and children and a host of others so much so that we are desensitized.
A long time ago, I heard comedian/activist Dick Gregory say on TV that a saving grace for humanity was that,
"The good folks outnumber the bad". I went to see him speak twice and he mentioned(in 1970), that we were no longer picking the better candidate in an election but "The lesser of two evils".After each 5 minute interval of speaking , Gregory said,"You young people have a big job and you haven't got much time." I wonder what Dick Gregory would say now in 2021 with all that is happening.
   My favorite short story is a cautionary tale by Ray Bradbury called,"A Sound of Thunder". The gist of it is that every thing that you and I do, both great and small will impact the future and very possibly, in a big way. We all have to be aware and become examples to the young ones so that there is a perfect balance between Yin and Yang.With a new school year upon us; this author is most worried!
   Years ago one of my favorite tunes was "Smoke" by the Tubes. The refrain said"The whole world is smokin and I can't stop chokin". Maybe this will change if we stop and listen to the sound of thunder.

"Those who are unaware that they are walking in darkness will never seek the light"- Bruce Lee