The man who wrote the letter below on my behalf was one of the greatest educators I ever knew … Rex Gearheart.
One very sad day about a decade ago, Rex took his own life.
The reason I wrote that last sentence is because that’s the main thing so many people who knew Rex seem to remember about him when I mention his name.
But Rex deserves to remembered for so much more than one bad decision he made when in a tragically complex and delusional state of mind.
Like all who die by their own hand, Rex lived a life prior.
And that is the life I choose to remember.
Rex Gearheart was a good man, a wonderful father, a great educator, and a former superintendent of Bristol VA Public Schools.
Rex did as much for the children of Bristol VA as anyone I have known in my lifetime. I will type that sentence again, because Rex deserves it. Rex did as much for the children of Bristol VA as anyone I have known in my lifetime.
His life was a bright light to many among us, including myself.
Rex cared particularly for the poor, which made me love him all the more.
Rex’s light shines on in countless wondrous ways. Every time I stoop to help the poor and needy in Bristol, I feel Rex’s spirit within me. Some may dwell on the darkness of how he took his own life. I choose to remember how graciously and constantly he gave light to so many families who still live on among us.
Some children live in a world that most of us who read these words would not recognize.
Instead of choosing between pizza and hamburger for dinner tonight, the family of the little girl in the pic below will be choosing between raiding a nearby dumpster or going hungry again.
Yet, even for such children, there is hope.
There exists in America a light shining so brightly that she and her family can see it, even from where they are … and if they incessantly travel toward it, that light will lead them out of darkness.
If you love democracy, my friends, then support American public schools. Every chance you get.
Don’t be one of those people who sit around constantly condemning what they don’t like about public education. By doing so, such people (whether they realize it or not) are ultimately also condemning the future for all our children and grandchildren - no matter whether they attend public or private schools.
The chance for every child in America (no matter how poor) to receive an equally great public education makes our entire republic stronger, better, more vibrant, more interconnected, more … American.
Without strong American public schools, American democracy has about as much chance as this little girl … if she did not have American public schools.
Thank God, she does.
Thank God, we all do.
Prostitutes may very well be among the most misunderstood people on this planet. During the many late nights I once spent out wandering among the poor and downtrodden of this world, I came across a few such “ladies of the night” over the years.
I ultimately found that when we speak badly of such people (as so many, even the best among us, are sometimes prone to do) we are really only talking about ourselves.
One lady of the night told me, “If you think about it, Mr. Talley, most everyone prostitutes themselves at sometime in their lives. How many wives give it up when they don’t really want to, to get something out of their husband? Sometimes people do things for love. Sometimes people do things for money. It could be a new car or a shopping spree, but we all give something up in some way to get something else in return. It’s just the way the world works.”
Call her words a dark view of life, if you’d like. I call it shining light on how much we are all much more alike than we might think.
