My Good Fortune

I remember my first impression of Dale's gym class when I was hired as a new Industrial Arts teacher across the hall from the gym. My eyes got big when I saw every gym student in white shorts, white tee shirt, and white socks toeing a line on the basketball court. A jail warder was walking up and down the line of students inspecting their formation as he carried a small but formidable paddle, that was Dale Meddock the gym teacher. I had never seen students that well behaved or so organized in my brief teaching career. I soon learned that this was normal student behavior. I was even more impressed when I saw gym students juggling tennis balls and basketballs in the hall next to my classroom. I tried to juggle and soon learned to be of an average skill level.

I kept watching across the hall to see what skills next would grab my interest and make me even more impressed. Gymnastics, peg board climbing, rope climbs and hand walking across the gym just made me shake my head at the skill level these Jr. High students were performing. The cherry on the sundae was the Gym Shows that packed the gymnasium and brought parents to a standing ovation as well as me.

I could not and would not devote the amount of time that Dale extended to his gymnasts as well as the regular students who participated in the Gym Shows. His gymnasts not only excelled in the gym but also in the classroom. I used to think that these "gentlemen" who came to my classroom were men in teen bodies.

It was my good fortune to have taught next to Dale Meddock, been his friend, and to have upgraded my school program because of his influence. I rank Dale as one of "My Most Unforgettable Characters" in my lifetime.

Thank-you Dale for being a genuine, decent human being in a world that lacks men of your stature.

John B. Mason








(Posted by BK on behalf of John Mason)