Dare I share another one so soon?  But, gosh, lately I've been
feeling like a Texas wildcat oil well that just came in.  I'm just gushing
with stuff.  I guess my excitement about the coming semester is really
building up after a roughly three month reluctant hiatus from the
classroom.

        What the heck.  There I was, "basking" in the hot, humid mid-day
summer sun among the front yard flower beds spraying them with a home made
natural, noxious, nicotine based bug spray made from boiling chewing
tobacco.  Coating my superheated body was an equally noxious concoction of
sweat, sunblock oil, and mosquito repellant made from being blanched in
the hot humidity.  My back was to the street.  As I whiffed away the
gnats, I heard the plodding of a runner.  I didn't look around.  I thought
it must be a fellow mad dog or Englishman.  I heard my name called out,
turned, and there was sweaty Nessie.  I waved.  She stopped, came over,
and started talking.  Parts of our conversation went something like this.

        Between gasping huffs and puffs, she said, "Hey, Dr. Schmier, this
is crazy."

        "Running in this humidity and sun?"  I asked in a tone of
agreement that questioned her sanity.

        "No.  A bunch of us were talking about you the other day over a
pizza.  We were singing our Bruce Springsteen project songs.  It was a
hoot.  We were doing that crazy rap stuff about Reconstruction at the
table.  The people around us thought we had lost it.  Then, we got to
talking about the class and how we felt about it.  We came up with a
puzzle for you that we were going to throw at you when classes begin.
But, hey, you're here now.  We wanted to know what you think is the most
important single word for a teacher or anyone on this campus?"

        I turned off the hose.  "Love," I shot back.

        "No.  We know that.  I mean if you could say only one word that
says it all, just one word, to a student when he first comes on campus,
when he first enters your classroom, when he first comes into your office,
what would it be?"

        "One word? You gotta be kidding."  I moaned.  For a second I
facetiously thought that in the future I should only work my front yard
at night when no one would see me.

        "One word," she continued.  "Not a phrase.  Not a sentence.  Not a
sermon.  Just one word.  That's all we're giving you.  What would that one
word be?"

        "Now?"

        "Now," she said with an impishness that revealed she thought she
had caught me.

        I thought for a second.  "You know what it is."

        "I do?"

        "Sure.  It was the first word I used on the first day of class as
I greeted you at the door and gave you the letter."

        She paused for a moment.  "I don't remember."

        "Think."

        "....'Welcome?'"

        "You got it.  'Welcome.'"

        "Why 'welcome?'"

        "It's probably the most important least used word in education,
second only to 'love.' It says it all," I told her.  "Love, support,
encourage, hope, worthy, faith, belief, care."  As we talked, we decided
that "welcome," is a word for everyone on campus:  staff, administrators,
professors, advisers, coaches.  It's also not just a first day word.
It's a second day word, and a third day word, and a fourth day word.
It's an every time word, a "each and every day" word.  And, it's not just
a "say to" word.  It's a "show it" and "live it" word as if each and every
day is a first day.  But, you've got to mean it.  You've got to be
passionate about it.  It's got to be unconditional.  The bottom line is
that it has to be real.  You can't say 'welcome' with a snarl in your
voice and a sneer on your face.  Your voice has to sing it, your body has
to dance it, your face has to smile it..."

        "What does all that mean?" she asked in confusion.

        Whenever I say welcome, I told her, I mean a bunch of things:  I
will be gracious to each of you; I will respect to each of you; my heart
is open to each and every one of you; I'm really glad each of you are
here; you're important and important to me; I'll do whatever it takes to
help you care about who you are and what you do; I want to see you grow to
your full potential.  I went to explain that "welcome" means an
unconditional and sincere greeting of each person without prejudice, bias,
preconception.  "That includes the brash, the confident, the tattooed, the
uncooperative, the body pierced, the shy, the lonely, the loudmouth, the
goof off, the hard worker, the special, the friendly, the indifferent, the
interested, the uninterested, the easy, the challenging.  It means each
and everyone, no exceptions."

        "Isn't that kind of dreamy?"

        "Well," I answered, "dreams are pretty powerful stuff.  They're
the key to our choices, passion, spirit, energy, growth.  You might say
that our dreams always lead the way for each of us.  When you dream you
are saying to yourself, 'What if' and 'It could be.' You'll get and be
what you imagine because you follow what you imagine to the places you
imagine."

        I went on to explain that I thought imagination is sort of an
expression of our desires, and its tough to go against your own desires.
Our imagination can go to bright, beautiful, energetic, positive,
exciting, extraordinary, selfless, and constructive places; or, it can go
to dark, ugly, lethargic, negative, self-centered, hum-drum, and
destructive places.  I prefer harnessing that incredible power to
fertilize my imagination with uplifting faith, hope, belief, and love.
If I imagine the best that's where whatever I think, feel, and do will
take me.  "I prefer to notice and embrace a student with an 'I care and
believe in you' then ignore or push him or her away with an 'I don't
really care and don't believe in you.' Then, I find myself in caring and
believing places."  Beats gagging on a poison pill of negative grumpy
worrying and griping.

        "Is it really that easy?"

        "No.  It's that demanding.  It's easy to say it; it's harder to
fight for it; it's even harder to live by it; and it's really tough to
live up to it.  If you want to keep on firing on all cylinders, you just
have to work through a bunch of what some Zen masters call 'The Lazies'
that are always there to stop you."

        Nessie sat down on the grass and we talked some more, a lot more
about "welcome" and about those debiliating "Lazies."

Make it a good day.

                                                       --Louis--


Louis Schmier                            www.therandomthoughts.com
Department of History                    www.halcyon.com/arborhts/louis.html
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698                    /~\    /\ /\
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