Just Some Thoughts on Coach Scolinos... and Don, and Gary, and George:)

Coach John Scolinos, Criss, and Bobby

at a Cal Poly softball reunion in 1991.

Please click on this pic to enlarge.

You MUST see the depth of this man.

For my Cal Poly friends: Just received word that our beloved Coach John Scolinos has fallen into a coma. Bobby and I got the news this morning and are pretty shaken. We were both blessed by this man for 5 wonderful years in college, and then beyond. Pardon the emotion, but we should all live such a life and create such a legacy for others. I love that man so much. Makes me think about my college years and those professors who had a major effect on my life and who I would become... Coach Scolinos, Don Morris, Gary Garfield, and George Derfer... my fab four. When you consider how many profs one has in college, spanning both the bachelors and masters, this is quite a prestigious list, isn't it? I'm grateful to all of them.

Coach, for living what he taught... that nothing comes before God and that integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is looking. That the most important word is "we" and the least important word is "I". That the three most important words are "control, class, and character." That the three worst words are "unreliable, unstable, and unfaithful." For always finding time to mentor others and for teaching us that "make an adjustment" isn't just a baseball term. I love that we were able to see you through the years. I had the honor of calling him "Coach" from 1982-1986.

Don, for showing me that I could do anything I dreamed of if I set my mind to it, and for having the confidence in me to give me a gift that would redirect my life. For sending me to Norway to study when he could have sent so many others. For forcing me to step out of my comfort zone... way out. For telling me the answer was "B" when he saw me struggling on one of his multiple choice tests, then teaching me that we need to do that for kids too. And for continuing to teach me 23 years later.

Criss and Don in Asker, Norway at my exchange student's wedding.

August 30, 1986

Don has since moved to Israel, and visited us in Brea for dinner and memories, 2008

Gary, for helping me develop my teaching skills in such a way that I would feel free to stand on tables to make a point, let kids lay on their backs while painting the underside of their desks so they would never forget who Michelangelo was, and have inner city kids "rap" their notes so they'd be able to pass the test. For helping me hone my teaching skills so that parents would be banging on the principal's door to get their kids in my class. Wish I had a photo of Gary and I. He was my professor, student teaching advisor, and Master's advisor years later when I was pregnant with Chad. He has even met with Chad recently, taken him on the private grand tour of Cal Poly, and talked to him about his options in higher education. Do you see a pattern? Great teachers never stop teaching just because you've left their class.

George, for teaching me to that we don't "learn" philosophy, we "do" philosophy. I lost touch with George, but would love to talk to him again. I wrote him a letter from Norway saying... "I'm doing it, I'm doing it! I get it!. In other words, be present in every moment and do life. Don't let it pass you by.

Coach never let life pass him by. What a beautiful man. What a legacy he will leave.