I’m just warming up the ol’ blog here, getting ready for the latest addition to the Fletcher Family. Cecilia is due 11/11/12. Jill seems to be ready now.
Stay Tuned!
Posted on November 4th, 2012 by heyfletch
Filed under: Cecilia | Comments Off on Cecilia Is On Her Way
Katrina, a classmate of mine from way back in the days of Burlington Jr. High & BHS, asked me on Facebook (sign in required) if I could remember our 8th grade English teacher’s name. It was pretty coincidental since that guy was my favorite teacher, but beyond that, probably one of the most influential people in my life. In fact, senior year in high school, I won some essay contest, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) where I recounted the life lessons & influence he had on me. The confidence he helped me find in myself really was a turning point and gave me a lot of motivation to succeed in life.
After a long time trying to remember his name (I actually had been trying to remember it for some time before Katrina asked), I realized where I could maybe find it. The essay was published in The Write Source as an example on how to write an “essay of reflection.” Again coincidentally, The Write Source is owned by another classmate of mine, Chris “Bubby” Erickson and his wife Janae Sebranek, who if I remember correctly, I played violin with.
So, I hunted around and found that Write Source book and my essay in it and thought I’d share it with Katrina. I couldn’t upload it directly to Facebook (at least couldn’t find a way… now thinking I could have done this in a Facebook Note), so decided to post this to JillJoe.com for safekeeping anyway.
circa 1992
Dear Mr. Schyvinck,
Throughout life, people are always influenced in some way
by others. This influence is what causes individuals to grow
mentally. It has been no different for me. I have met a wide
variety of people in my life and have learned from each of them.
The one person that sticks out in my mind as having had the
most influence on me, however, is you.One reason why I took such a strong liking to you is that
my parents had recently gotten a divorce, and I was coming out
of a turbulent sixth-grade year. I needed something to fill the
emptiness I was feeling. You were there for me. You had a way
of making me feel good about myself, who I was and what I did.
The little talks that you had with us really touched on some
things that I needed to hear. I remember one day you told us
that we should not be overly concerned when people ridicule us.
You said that the important thing is that we like who we are.
You restored some confidence in me that I had thought I had
lost for good.One of your better qualities was your ability to connect a
story with a meaningful lesson in life. You told us about your
son who was trying out for some major league baseball team.
During the tryouts, he went out of his way for a fly ball and
ended up crashing into the fence. I think he hurt himself, but
because of the extra effort he put forth, he made the team. You
had many stories like this that inspired us to do our best.You worked with all of us to make us better students,
never leaving anyone out. You would make sure that everyone
answered a question or added something to class each day. You
would go around the room and ask each student a question or
how he or she felt about something. You showed that you
really did care if we learned. You would always stress doing
more than just an average job, that we would not get very far if
we were not willing to put forth that extra effort.Throughout the year you remained a great teacher, always
fair. You pushed us to do our homework and do it better. You
could not stand students being lazy (which I was before I had
you). If kids in the class would not do anything, you would
make them work. You would ask the students questions and
have them diagram sentences as a class until you were sure they knew what they were doing. Remember Paul? One day
while we were diagramming sentences, you noticed him staring
out the window. You made Paul diagram the next sentence on
the chalkboard, incorporating him into the class. You worked
with him and in a way made it fun so that he would want to
work. This impressed me.At the end ofthe year, we were all anxious to see what our
grades were. You gave us these index cards that had our grades
on them. I looked at mine, and then I turned the card over and
read the words, “Don’t Just Get By!” You told us to bring the
cards back senior year when we graduate and you would give
us a dollar.Before I had you as a teacher, I was just an average student.
Then I started applying what you were teaching us to all
of my classes. I started trying harder to do the best that I could,
and my grades improved significantly. Ever since our year
together, I have been a 4.0 student or close to it.Your approach affected not only my grades, but my whole
outlook on life. You told us that we live life only once so we
should try to live it to the fullest. Before I had you, I was a
lazy, chubby kid, content to spend my free time, even in the
summer, just staying inside and watching TV You told us that
if we did not like the way our lives were going that we should
change them. I did not like the way mine was going, so I
changed it. The summer after I had you I became more active.
I stayed outside a lot more and went to my friends’ houses more
often. I began riding my bike often, and I slimmed down and
gained muscle (you probably would have made a great exercise
instructor).Ever since our seventh-grade year, I have looked at that
time as a turning point in my life. I credit most of those
changes to you and your indispensable advice. Without your
constant encouragement, I am sure that I would still be just
getting by. Many years from now, I will still look back on my
childhood and reflect on the timeless lessons that you were generous
enough to share with me.I’m looking forward to graduating next year and moving
on to college, but I am especially anxious to meet with you and
cash in on that card that I have been hanging on to for the last
four years. Along with this letter, I will finally get the chance
to thank you in person for giving me the desire to do the best I
can.Best wishes,
Joe Fletcher
Posted on August 24th, 2010 by heyfletch
Filed under: Updates | 2 Comments »
Jill & I visited Mikey, Fawn, & Sienna a few months ago (July 18, 2009 – just getting to this post now) in Lompoc, near Santa Barbara, before they moved to Florida. As you may know, that’s where they filmed Sideways. Cool movie, all about visiting different wineries and drinking a lot of good wine. Actually, I’m sure it was about more than that, but that’s the part I remember.
Mikey was kind enough to send me an itinerary of our day… given my memory wasn’t quite at 100% that day for some reason. From Mikey:
We began in Lompoc with the “wine ghetto,” a place not well known, but housing some of the best wineries in Central California. We started at
1. Fiddlehead, http://www.fiddleheadcellars.com/ and then moved on to
2. Samsara, http://www.samsarawine.com/, and finally hit
3. Palmina, http://www.palminawines.com/, before moving out of Lompoc to Los Olivos for
4. Longoria, http://www.longoriawine.com/. From here, we moved out to Foxen Canyon Trail (which has a lot of wineries) and went to
5. Foxen, http://www.foxenvineyard.com/, and then went to Solvang, the Danish village, for
6. Trio, http://www.curranwines.com/clubinfo.html.After all that wine, we went to fill our bellies with some quality steak at the Hitching Post II in Buelton, right next to Solvang: http://www.hitchingpost2.com/
We miss you Jerryson’s!
Posted on January 14th, 2010 by heyfletch
Filed under: Updates | Comments Off on Jill & Joe Go Sideways