Mrs. Leah Jordan English Teacher My Best Teacher!
Mr. Karl Agan Principal of Chester High School Principle with a Vision
the student council. Mother told me that people used to come into our restaurant just because they liked my smile. It’s funny how the little things mean so much. I can’t help but smile now just thinking about this. I don’t recall going out on many dates, but I probably did go out some. I do remember some dances. I was a terrific dancer. During high school, I liked a girl who worked at the drive-in. Her name was Carol Marker. She was my favorite. She wasn’t Jewish, but it didn’t matter to me, and I wasn’t asking my parents for permission. I ended up taking her to the senior prom. She was the girl I longed for when I was far away in the Army. I was pleasantly surprised during our gradu- ation ceremony when the principal, Karl E. Agan, made me the winner of the Danforth Foundation Award. As a reward, I was given a book called I Dare You; it is about a dare to be all that you can be. I sometimes wonder what Mr. Agan saw in me. I often wondered what would become of me. For a long time, I thought I would become a doctor. I certainly never dreamed I would become a small businessman. In fact, I was the best hope for my father to be a doctor and the only one in my family to graduate college. One thing I’m not terribly proud of during those times is that almost everybody smoked cigarettes. So did I. It wouldn’t be until many years later until I would quit. We lived in different times.
My hometown of Chester is located just outside of the world-class city of Philadelphia. Philadelphia is also known as The Cradle of the American Revolution. At one point, it was the Capitol of the United States. With extensive public transportation access, I could visit The Franklin Institute Science Museum and be back home for dinner; it was an enthralling experience. One of my favorite exhibits was the great locomotive engine. I climbed into the cab of that massive engine and pretended to be an engineer, “Toot! Toot!” They also had a huge pendulum hanging from the roof of the fifth-floor stretching all the way to the first. The movement of that pendulum echoes the movement of the Earth. It gracefully swings back and forth, knocking down pins at regular intervals, a hypnotizing experience. Another exciting place for me to visit was The Academy of Natural Science. The highlight of that trip was seeing a life-sized Tyrannosaurus Rex meticulously put together. Every high school has a culture. In ours, every kid adored the school custodian. He was a kind and gentle person. During my short time at school, this man died. His death was my first experience in dealing with the idea of life and death of a loved one. I never forgot him, even though I don’t remember his name. I don’t remember being popular anywhere, except maybe in my family, but I must have been well-liked because I remember being elected to
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