A phone call this afternoon from an old mentor, colleague and friend came as an unexpected and delightful surprise.
Terry was on the phone with the caller as I entered the house with my haul from Nino D’Aversa, one chicken and three veal cutlet sandwiches for my weekly bridge game with the boys.
“Here, I’ll let you talk to the boss,” Terry said handing me the phone. She likes to call me the boss as long as there are no significant decisions impending.
The familiar voice on the other end of the line was Neil Gazeley, founding vice principal at Brebeuf College and guiding force for the school for almost thirty years.
“Hi Mike. Just thought I’d give you a call on this, the feast of Jean de Brebeuf,” Neil began in his friendly yet unmistakable voice.
“I know you have a special connection with Jean so I just called to ask if you could put in a special word with him for me,” he continued.
Initially I wondered if Neil had some sort of medical issue. After all, he is 85 years old. He quickly dispelled any such notion as he began joking with me in his witty Johnny Carson like style.
“Mike, I’d ask you to come over to visit me but it seems, from reading your blog, everywhere you go, someone gets cancer,” he quipped.
The image of Jessica Fletcher suddenly came to mind.
“Seriously,” he continued, “I do enjoy reading your stories. In fact, I’ve saved most of your posts and was thinking of publishing them under my name.” Unlike Johnny, Neil laughs at his own jokes and it was wonderful to hear him be so light and spontaneous.
He inquired about my current health status and congratulated me on my efforts to track my journey.
I was touched that he would take the time to call. I’ve always felt privileged to be part of the Brebeuf family, a family that Neil Gazeley should rightly be called the father of.
"Sorry to end that last sentence with a preposition Neil."
As my English teacher almost fifty years ago, I know he wouldn’t approve, but what can he expect from a math guy?
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