Tribute to Gary Kessler
By Tom Ryan
When I was asked to say a few words about the nowretired Gary Kessler , my mind went into a kind of overdrive . Usually , I can pinpoint a particular theme about a person and go from there , but Gary Kessler invited me to a smorgasbord of ideas rather than just one of his oftenfrequented delis . Gary touched us all in very special and specific ways . I would like to touch on a few early morning remembrances . Where do I begin ?
Usually the best place to start is at the beginning , so why not mention parking outside Saint David ’ s in the early morning ? Gary had a particularly measured eye when it came to parking . He could tell you if you needed to move three inches up or back so as to allow another vehicle to park . The underlying message here was not the extra juggling of the spaces for his parking , but to ensure that there would be room for another vehicle . This is Gary . Despite our sometimes consternation over these three inches , he was already thinking of the “ next guy !” Would one of the later
Gary teaching a woodshop class .
“ arrivees ” have room ? Would we all be summoned by that person to move a bit ? NO ! Gary ’ s thoughts about others saved the day !
One of the highlights of the early morning people was our daily gathering for what came to be known as THE BREAKFAST CLUB ! This august group , not to be confused with older , elderly , or veteran , made its way to the faculty room for a half hour of food , current events , family activities , sports talk , movie reviews , and the like . Think unscripted radio program with butter and jelly ! Gary was one of the senior members of this mostly senior group . He would contribute to the spread with both food and off-the-cuff remarks and opining .
There was seemingly no topic Gary could not talk about . He could instruct us about the caloric intake for some of our choices , the random chemical additives we were consuming , and the proper way to cut a wedge of cheese with a plastic knife . Gary would also bring to the table a veritable bucket of Greek yogurt , some grain-rich cereal , and some exquisitely cut fresh fruit – and then he would partake in whatever else we had on the table . Along the way , Gary would , for our edification , read the back of whatever package we were about to get food from , and treat us to a list of chemical dyes and their requisite numbers . Gary took great care and pride in having us all aware of what we were about to consume . Occasionally , some wag at the table blurted out that we were there to eat , not read , at which point Gary would stop reading and ask for more butter ! We knew he could not help himself – he only wanted to help !
Following some quiet moments of eating , the discussion portion of the program began , sometimes innocently enough by the mention of a TV program , a sporting event , a school activity , a family-related weekend event , or
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