* * Catching up with the Blumenthals

Last evening, we got together with the Blumenthals.

Jan and Shelley Blumenthal are our next door neighbors.  They’re familiar to just about everybody between the ages of 15 and 40 in our town of Blacksburg, and many more people besides.  Jan and Shelley are teachers.

Jan retired just a few weeks ago from a career teaching choir at Blacksburg High School.  Shelley has been a guidance counselor there for many years.  He’s also the soccer coach.

But these things really don’t come close to describing the impact that these two people have had on our community.

Each year, Jan is the host of an annual recital concert for all of her students for that year.  This year with her retirement looming, something special happened.  Her current students used Facebook and other media to invite past students to take part in a celebratory song to send Jan happily into her retirement.  Nearly 100 current and past students, some of the older ones with children of their own others pregnant, appeared onstage and sang the song Seasons of Love (from the opera Rent) together. 

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets
In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife
In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, a year in the life?
How about love?
Measure in love

From all accounts, it was a completely emotional experience and everyone was in tears by the time it was over.  Shelley said, “I am usually pretty unemotional about these things but I was crying like a baby.”

Our daughter, Whitney, was one of Jan’s past students who came and sang onstage.  She echoed Shelley’s sentiment that everyone was just overwhelmed with emotion.

Jan quipped, “I usually pride myself with staying abreast of what is going on around the school.  Students typically tell me what is going on.  But I had no idea this was being planned so it took me completely by surprise.  So maybe it's time for me to retire.  It was just like the closing scene from the movie, Mr. Holland’s Opus.”

Shelley has had a memorable year of his own.  His soccer teams have enjoyed unprecedented success during his tenure. According to the team's website, Shelley has, "led the Indians to 10 state championships in the past 19 years.  In the 19 years that Coach B has been head coach, he has a record of 374-28-15 for a winning pertcentage on 93.1%.  Coach B's first year as head coach, Blacksburg was the state runners-up.  Coach B has coached 37 Group AA 1st team players, 19 2nd team players and 24 honorable mention players, as well as 10 times a Blacksburg player has been named player of the year for the state. This year his team got off to a slow start of two wins and two losses before reeling off a string of victories that left them again that brought them again to the state championship where they lost a close game. He said, “I was proud of how we really came together as a team this year.”

All this was on top of the fact that the school building they’d been in for most of their careers had partially collapsed and would never again be occupied.  Last year was held in the former Middle School and those students were bused to Christiansburg each day to the former High School where I graduated in 1972 in what was an old building event then.

Shelley told a story that I hope will stick in my mind for a long time.  He said that he had had a conversation with several of his old friends from college.  Every one of them was more successful monetarily and he was.  But, “All of us agree that none are as happy with their lives as I am.”

We should all live such successful, fulfilling lives!