March 22, 1994
"The path of life is seldom straight, around every corner adventure waits."
Thornton Burgess - Children's Author
To which I add - so, too, does the unexpected and a chance meeting with someone you'll never forget.
Ten seconds after I wrote the last words in this journal yesterday morning, I turned around and there looking at me was Robin - the young woman I had just wrote about and came here to thank. I do not know who was most surprised, her or me. She smiled and then gave me a kiss on the cheek. Suddenly, I'm in love with a twenty year old college junior - yes, there is no fool like an old fool. And just as suddenly I feel as though I'm just as young as the students walking this campus.
I told her I came to Saint Leo for one reason, which was to thank her for coming over and talking to me on that Friday in December. She was on her way to class and we decided to meet at 3:30pm in front of the library.
Between 10:30 and 3:30, I walked the campus and reflected on the memories of my years here. Club'67 is gone, just an empty plot of weeds. But the tree under which Anne and I kissed that fateful night still stands with Spanish moss hanging from its branches. The house where I lived with John and Angelo is still here. I walked through the Abbey cemetery and stopped by the graves of two old friends, Father Thomas and Brother Bernard. I prayed in the Abbey Church, which has a stained glass window of Saint Patrick - oh, the influences of the Irish. And I went to the Grotto and just sat and listened to the birds as they sang and serenaded one another.
I then drove into Dade City and found the Quaker Bar which is now in a new building about two blocks from where it used to be. During my first few months at Saint Leo, friends and I used to go to the old Quaker Bar on Friday and Saturday nights - and drink and play the jukebox until closing time. It didn't take long before we got to know the owner, Jim, and the bartender, Louise. Although a number of professors came to the bar, few students did. .
One of the things I immediately noticed about the bar was that periodically, throughout the night, a bell would ring from a back room and the bartender would disappear to the room behind the bar. - then return to the bar and make drinks and pour beers into paper cups and return to the hidden room with the drinks.
One night I asked Jim about the bell and hidden room. He said the room was for blacks and when they wanted a drink they rang the bell. I then made the mistake of asking why he served the drinks in paper cups? "You don't want to drink out of the same glass as a nigger," he answered. "Well, if you washed the glasses it wouldn't bother me," I replied. In a slow but sturdy voice he said, "Yankee boy, I've got a gun back here and you're a long way from home, so mind your place and keep your mouth shut,"
In 1967 Dade City was the rural South and I'm sure time and changing attitudes have made it a better place today. I went into the new Quaker Bar, had a couple of beers and smoked a few cigarettes. I didn't ask about Jim and Louise. I sat alone, minded my place and kept my mouth shut.
At 3:30 I met Robin. We hugged and she kissed me again on the cheek. we walked to the Student Union where we drank iced tea and talked. We both hadn't over how surprised we were this morning when we met so unexpectedly at the library. I told her how I spent my day and my experience at the Quaker Bar. I thanked her again for that afternoon in December - but when I tried to explain how much it meant to me, I filled up with tears. So, I couldn't tell her about Maggie but did tell her that I would explain everything in a letter - which I wrote last night and mailed this morning.
When I finish this I'll start my trip back to Boston/Cape Cod - with a few more days in Saint Augustine. The last time I was here was just before Christmas - now it is just before Easter and I leaving with no hope and no home to go to. But I am leaving much happier today than I did then.
So, thank you, Robin - may God bless you and may you always have joy in your heart.
8:00am - The Abbey Church - Saint Leo, Florida
contact: fortheheartcries@gmail.com
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