Reflections of a Man I Knew
by Mike Davis, Ph.D.
Head of School
Recently, the father of one of my close high school friends passed away. This man was quite a character, and I remember him fondly. He was aware of his somewhat tough exterior and used it to his advantage. In my early encounters with him, he would yell at me from the recesses of his house, clearly conveying to me that he expected me to be on my best behavior when I was around his daughter. As I got to know him better, I caught on to the (half) joke he was enjoying at my expense and began to push back a little with my own humor. We developed some running jokes and a rapport based on respect; he became an adult that I just loved to see. He understood the importance of treating teenagers as adults and not as children--never talking down, but rather expecting high-level behavior and interaction. You had to be on your toes intellectually when you spent any time with him. Upon his passing, my mom sent me the program from his memorial service. In it were favorite quotes he had come across in his life, as well his own unique observations. His children had discovered this collection while going through his journals. His writings remind me of the importance of documenting our own feelings and thoughts and identifying those ideas that shape our world view. Life passes quickly, and if we don't slow down to be reflective, we risk missing something important.
This man's journal writings remind me of all the influences that shape our character and actions. And these quotes and observations gave me new insight into a person I remember so fondly. I thought I would share a few of his words as a way to honor him, but also to demonstrate the value of reflection and of recording our lives. In the words of author Anthony Doerr, "A good journal entry- like a good song, or sketch, or photograph- ought to break up the habitual and lift away the film that forms over the eye, the finger, the tongue, the heart. A good journal entry ought to be a love letter to the world.”
From his journal:
To thine own self be true, and it must follow,
as the night the day, thou canst not then be false
to any man.
- Shakespeare
Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance
K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid.)
Know thyself.
- Socrates
The hardest thing about doing dishes is pretending you don't have to pee.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three rights do make a left.
To know how to do a thing means one knows how not to do it. - Aristotle
Avoid leaning over the toilet when your cell phone is in your shirt pocket.
Alternatively, get shirts with pocket flaps that button.
One can be strong enough to help others only after one has helped himself.
If you set out to take Vienna, take Vienna.
- Napoleon Bonaparte
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Run through the tape.
If anything can go wrong, it probably already has, and you just don’t know it yet.
Tend to your own garden.
- Voltaire
You can’t please everyone, but you can piss everyone off.
Back
Head of School
Recently, the father of one of my close high school friends passed away. This man was quite a character, and I remember him fondly. He was aware of his somewhat tough exterior and used it to his advantage. In my early encounters with him, he would yell at me from the recesses of his house, clearly conveying to me that he expected me to be on my best behavior when I was around his daughter. As I got to know him better, I caught on to the (half) joke he was enjoying at my expense and began to push back a little with my own humor. We developed some running jokes and a rapport based on respect; he became an adult that I just loved to see. He understood the importance of treating teenagers as adults and not as children--never talking down, but rather expecting high-level behavior and interaction. You had to be on your toes intellectually when you spent any time with him. Upon his passing, my mom sent me the program from his memorial service. In it were favorite quotes he had come across in his life, as well his own unique observations. His children had discovered this collection while going through his journals. His writings remind me of the importance of documenting our own feelings and thoughts and identifying those ideas that shape our world view. Life passes quickly, and if we don't slow down to be reflective, we risk missing something important.
This man's journal writings remind me of all the influences that shape our character and actions. And these quotes and observations gave me new insight into a person I remember so fondly. I thought I would share a few of his words as a way to honor him, but also to demonstrate the value of reflection and of recording our lives. In the words of author Anthony Doerr, "A good journal entry- like a good song, or sketch, or photograph- ought to break up the habitual and lift away the film that forms over the eye, the finger, the tongue, the heart. A good journal entry ought to be a love letter to the world.”
From his journal:
To thine own self be true, and it must follow,
as the night the day, thou canst not then be false
to any man.
- Shakespeare
Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance
K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid.)
Know thyself.
- Socrates
The hardest thing about doing dishes is pretending you don't have to pee.
Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three rights do make a left.
To know how to do a thing means one knows how not to do it. - Aristotle
Avoid leaning over the toilet when your cell phone is in your shirt pocket.
Alternatively, get shirts with pocket flaps that button.
One can be strong enough to help others only after one has helped himself.
If you set out to take Vienna, take Vienna.
- Napoleon Bonaparte
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
Run through the tape.
If anything can go wrong, it probably already has, and you just don’t know it yet.
Tend to your own garden.
- Voltaire
You can’t please everyone, but you can piss everyone off.
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