PEOPLE WILL NEVER FORGET HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.
TITLE BY MAYA ANGELOU
STORY BY PETER VUONO
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF VIET NAM VET/ART TEACHER BILL ALLEN-1944-2021
Just a short time ago, one of my son's favorite teachers-art teacher Bill Allen- passed on. Bill was a courageous Viet Nam vet but always talked in quiet calming tones. It was almost as if he was a close follower of Buddha or Lao Tzu. One June day in 2006, Bill had a meeting with my wife and me about my son, Mike. I honestly can't remember the specifics but I vividly remember the quiet, sincere complimentary remarks Bill made about my son. I NEVER forgot the feeling that this gave me and now, after Bill's passing, the meeting reminded me so much of Maya Angelou's quote , "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel"
Bill's kindness brought me back to a wonderful gesture that I experienced in the late 70's. One of my Down's Syndrome students-Patty encountered the towering Phys. Ed. dept. chair Don Vanderstreet who at 6"6" was an imposing figure with a heart of gold. Patty and Mr. Vanderstreet spoke briefly, both smiling widely. When Patty got back, I asked her,"What did you and Mr. Vanderstreet talk about, Patty?". To this, she answered, "Nice Things". Although Patty's disability kept her from remembering the dialogue, like Maya Angelou said; she remembered how she felt when finished.
Finally, this brought me back to an incident that I, as a young kid, never forgot in 1967. My family and I were friendly with pro wrestler Tony Altomare; a super guy in his own right. While at the 4 Seasons Arena in Walpole Ma for some matches, we met with Tony who took me in the locker room to meet the legends.They were all playing cards and the fan favorite "baby face" ignored me. However imagine my delight when the 350lb. "heel" Jesse"Bull" Ortega, stopped the game, stood in my presence, shook my hand while smiling from ear to ear and signed an autograph. Mr. Ortega would pass away at the age of 44 but I never forgot how he made me feel!
There are so many other incidents that I could cite but I think that you, the reader, can see where I'm going here. Mother Teresa said, "Do small things with great love". Starting with my former colleague Bill Allen, I remember these wonderful memories and I'm reminded that they happened so that I would go and do likewise and spread good feelings which will in turn propagate with so many others.
