Sent: Monday, June 30, 2003 2:45 PM
Subject: here's the latest from the brilliant Art Sanford—hope you're resting well. Roger
Beth's POEM; Riley English
first some news from the here and now": that house in which Nathalie and I lived for nearly 19 years--longer than either of us has lived in any house--is being completely redone and a Missionary family will be living there for the next year as they are home on furlough, as one of the staff told us--"that house has been a missionary's home for so long we just had to keep it that way" thinking back to our furlough when we had to really look to find a place to live so nice for this family
Atherton is a GOOD place.
now for the past: don't know why this came to mind but to set the scene want to share with you a poem by Granddaughter Beth haven't asked her permission but anyway:
Things must live and things must die ...
People must laugh and people must cry. ..
Sometimes you may feel sad and alone.
But happiness comes and friendships grow,
Special moments come to share. ..
With special friends who really care ....
Though some of these moments may be in the past. .
Their memories will forever last.
.. (gramps words: and the beautiful face I see on the last page of this little booklet is of a lovely High School girl, whom gramma and I will always remember a time when she went with us from Seattle to Spokane and back and her last words to us when we Got home "Thank you for letting me talk so much" well she did entertain us both ways and we were GLAD:
now for my memory: was thinking of my first class in Northwestern Bible School with Mrs Riley (who was then Marie Accomb) she had a way of asking a question then talking a while and then naming a student to answer --well Ray and I were both in that class-- she asked a question which sounded to me like she made it is as a statement, then a little later she looked in her registry and said Mr Sanford will answer----ha there were two Mr Sanfords so I waited for Mr Ray (Lawrence as he was known in Northwestern) to answer but he didn't, the rascal tho he knew the answer--so Miss Accomb again looked in her book and said Mr Arthur Sanford --(the As came before the Ls ) he didn't know the answer so she said "you were bulldozing and today you get an F" then she moved on and Ray got an A. Well I made up my mind neither she nor any other teacher would ever again catch me - and about four years later right at the end of my senior year in English Class she did that again but I was waiting and gave the perfect answer I remember her looking at me with a queer look and then said "Arthur, I have tried
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many times since you were in my first class to catch you and have never been able to do it" and I said Mrs Riley, that day I made up my mind that no teacher would ever again catch me that way" then with a big smile she said, "for that you get an A in Senior English" , and I did
not have to take the final exam. WOW (won't comment on some comments from the rest of the class) Well time past and when I was enrolling in Whitworth College my grades in Northwestern were being considered for accreditation and the head of the English department looking at my grades asked who was my teacher there and I said Mrs Riley, "was she the
former Miss Marie Accomb?" yes. "well Whitworth has no English for you --anyone who can get an A from Marie Accomb is qualified to teach here". then she told how she knew Mrs Riley --they had been co-teachers in a High School in Minneapolis.. and even today when I hear others make grammatical errors I catch them ==thanks to Mrs Riley. Memories--oh I heard Mrs Riley say once, "I am not here to teach you young men what to preach, but I am going to see that you will do it correctly or you won't graduate." and she meant that. memories oh when Nathalie and I were in Spokane in Central Baptist Church, for some reason the Rileys were in Spokane and came to our house for an afternoon tea for all the Northwestern students in the area. AND she reminded me of those two times, wondering if I had forgotten them -- I hadn't and I still haven't. teachers can sure make a lasting impression on one's mind --night to you all. me
7/1/2003