AncienTrails

Sept. 12, 2015
Chesterfield Christian Spiritualist Camp
10:45 pm
Surprising night at Norwood Bowl. Still feeling a little tentative, I arrived around 6:50. A lot of folks were already there. The meal was cubed steak, scalloped potatoes, green beans and corn. A very Hoosier meal.
The most surprising part of the evening for mecame when Richie Howard, a gentle 6 foot 3 or 4 bear of a guy, offered a memory of high school. “I struggled with math, but there was one person who always helped me, never blew me off. Charlie Ellis.”
That led to my being asked to say something. Which I did. I’d actually thought about it a bit. “Facebook is important. It proves that in a polarized political environment like we have in this country now, we can still be friends because we know each other, even if we disagree politically. That’s significant.”
When I finished, the one who called me up said, “Charlie, we love you.” And everybody clapped, smiled. It left me feeling a little shy, but very pleased. Warm.
That kind of moment validates, in an emotional way, a whole period of my life. Not that I felt bad about it, but high school was a conflicted time for me like it is for so many people. This put a rosy glow around high school that I hope never leaves me.