The Man, the Myth, the Legend
Once upon a time in a land far, far away there was a seventeen-year old girl, seated quietly at her high school’s drama performance. When intermission came, the man seated next to her started a conversation with his unmistakable deep voice reverberating in the concrete-walled theatre, inquiring about her future plans for college. She boldly stated with assertion that she would be studying earth sciences (even though she had her doubts). The man cast his glance downward and seemed put off by her statement. She turned to him inquisitively and asked what was wrong. ‘Well, I was really hoping that you would become a writer.’ The man was Notre Dame High School’s senior year English professor, Gary DuKoska. The girl…was me.
I planned to release the story as the introduction to my unpublished book, so that I could imagine or possibly even see the look on his face when he realized that I had remembered what he told me twelve years ago, sitting on the bleachers downstairs in the theatre. But, because waiting solves nothing in life, I have decided to reprint the story as a memorial to him, upon hearing (yesterday) of his passing in January. Though I didn’t realize the importance of his statement at the time, it obviously made enough of an impact so that I had never forgotten that brief moment. If anything as a result of this journey materializes in the shape of writing professionally, I owe the seed of possibility which was planted many years ago to him.
Rest in peace “Duke”.
Tags: Cristi Farrell, English, Miscellaneous, Tag Index
cristi.farrell
January 20th, 2014 at 4:45 pm
Thanks for this. “The Duke” was also my English teacher, but many years earlier (NDHS class of ’72) and he gave me not only a life-long love of theater in general, but Shakespeare in particular. What an amazing teacher (and performer!) he was–the very very finest. I spent many a rapt hour in his class, teetering on the edge of my seat, enthralled by the drama of Macbeth or the humor of As You Like it. He was utterly without equal. Indeed, may he rest well.
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