I have seen smaller crowds at Disneyland!
The minute Mr. J stepped into the room, all the students threw their schoolwork aside excitedly and ran up to him, quickly leaving every single seat empty.
It had been a year since his first visit back to Academy Charter School after he
left, but I can still see clearly the smile on his face as all these fifty some-odd kids crowded around him, clamoring for his attention. He was not at all bogged down by all this energy, but, as he always did, absorbed it and gave it back as well as he could.
"All of you get out of the way!" I remember thinking as I looked over this spectacle. "I'm the one he came here to see!"
Had it been any other teacher, even another teacher that had also
left about a month ago, would all the others and I care enough to leave our seats? Probably not.
What gave him the honor of being charged down by the whole 8th grade the minute he was noticed?
That question may have stumped the parents and some of the administration, but it is blindingly obvious to me.
To start with the first thing people would notice about his personality, he was very funny. He could take on any level of humor, be it mature, immature, intellectual, non-intellectual, raw, cooked, burnt, etc., regardless of how much time it took to think up, which is a skill some professional comedians wish they could do. Because of this gift, he was to make any situation lighter.
For instance, after the dust settled that day, he and I walked through the school, talking. He saw Allie, one of the girls that was also really close to him, crying on a bench.
We went up to her and he, thinking that her boyfriend had said something mean again, told her that she should not shed any tears for that moron.
"No," she sobbed. "I'm crying because of you leaving our school and not being able to be here more."
"Oh," he said, very much surprised. "Well... Carry on, then...."
It was, by no means, just that, however. He also, like in his favorite book, The Little Prince, had not forgotten the wisdom and wonder and what it means to be young.
Mr. J was our age at heart and, because of that, could understand and talk to us better than anyone of his generation.
It wasn't just that we could complain about imposing adults to him, but also that he could actually impart his and their
wisdom to us in a way that we get it.
He could always make me feel better about what my parents and teachers were trying to do for me when I think they are just trying to restrict me for no apparent reason.
He could be strict with us and realize the magnitude of some our big mistakes when we make them.
Also, last, but absolutely not least, he was incredibly selfless. He considered us of utmost
importance when no one else did.
He would offer everything in his house to us and whatever else he had and all he would ask for in return is our company, which we were always happy to give.
I know that he would want us to be happy and laughing it up, which is very hard in our grief, but we must try for him.
He'd want us to be carrying on with our lives and great work, continuing his legacy.
Most of all, he'd want us to be selfless and giving in his memory.
He was, as he always said, the "goods"; and we should let him know that.
Thank you all,
Gabe Shames
