"If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes real good, you did it. That’s all it takes to get people to win football games.”
LEWISTON, Maine —There are fringe benefits that come with being a print journalist, but the best perk of all is meeting kind and dedicated people who make a difference in people's lives on a daily basis.
I had the privilege speaking with one of those human beings last week. He is a teacher and high school football coach who has been in the trenches on the football field and in the classroom — for 42 fruitful years. He is an extraordinary person who served a tour in Vietnam. But instead of allowing himself to be tainted or haunted by a war that frustrated an entire nation for over a decade, Mechanic Falls native Chuck Lenahan chose to become a teacher and a football coach.
Lenahan is like Vince Lombardi and Bear Bryant all rolled into one, but his compassion for his athletes and students is beyond reproach. Like his principal, Bruce Parson, my former coach at Revere High School, these two educators share a common bond and believe in the greater good for all of their students at Plymouth Regional High School.
I could go on and on about the both them and their heroic efforts to prepare each student for the world outside the classroom, but I already have in an article I have written for the Lewiston Sun Journal sports section.
What you will find is one remarkable coach and a principal doing wonderful things for children somewhere in the woods of New Hampshire. These guys don't come along often in life, but when they appear in our public schools, students' chances for a better way of life improve dramatically.
If you want to know more about an incredibly successful high school football coach and dedicated principal, check out this link:
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/local-sports/2013/04/06/plymouth-rock-football-all-about-pride-and-traditi/1343883
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/local-sports/2013/04/06/plymouth-rock-football-all-about-pride-and-traditi/1343883
Music to my ears
What to do on a chilly, blustery April afternoon?
Well, things move fast in the big city, and all of sudden, I won a pair of tickets to listen to George Frederic Handel's "Messiah." Sure, it is often considered Christmas music, but who gives a damn what season it is when 80 extremely talented singers and musicians get together at the Franco American Heritage in Lewiston.
For two glorious hours, we listened to this ensemble perform one of the finest pieces in classical music in a grand cathedral – the former St. Mary's Church, which is now the Franco Center.
The architecture alone is something to behold when such wonderful music is performed in these hallowed halls, which also provides the perfect acoustics to accommodate such a lovely performance.
The three of us usually sit in the back of the church to allow the music to wash over us like gentle, soothing waves at Popham Beach.
I was a stay-at-home dad who would often play the "Messiah" to help my son sleep through an afternoon nap. Of course, that worked both ways.
I was a stay-at-home dad who would often play the "Messiah" to help my son sleep through an afternoon nap. Of course, that worked both ways.
Artistic director John Carrie produced another masterful performance thanks to the angelic voices of soloists Susan Strickland, Shannon Rolbiecki, Martin Lescault and Leon Griesbach, the Maine Music Society Orchestra and the rest of the remarkable voices of the Androscoggin Chorale
The church was nearly filled with an appreciative audience who spent two and half hours drifting away in a sea of glorious voices and soothing music.
Bravo, bravo!
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