Feature Article
continued from page 20 . . .
Many a morning, before I would head to class,
we would sit at her dining room table and talk
about all the big wonderful things we would do
someday. Then we would sip some more coffee
and express our concerns and worries about
whatever anxieties might be on our minds.
Invariably she would look at me with her kind
blue eyes, smiling, reaching for my hand with a
quick reassuring squeeze, saying, “Jamie, if that’s
the worst you ever have to worry about, everything will be okay.” My Grandma Eleanor died
less than a year after I graduated from Siena;
I cherish the time we spent together and know
her love surrounds me now.
“I was a stranger and you welcomed me, naked
and you clothed me…”
In those early days at Siena, I wasn’t merely a
stranger because I was new and didn’t know other students; in many ways, in hindsight, I was just
beginning to get to know myself. “Being clothed”
was quite literal – as in the chance to wear the
Saints colors for cross country and track.
The camaraderie of running for Siena granted
me the great gift of tremendous friendships that
endure and strengthen with time. There’s no substitute for shared experience. Coach Smith, with
that booming voice, would tell us if we didn’t
run faster we’d get beat on like a snare drum, and
Coach Bauer threatened “cheese sandwiches” as
our meal choice if we underperformed at a meet.
They said encouraging things, too, but those
threats were attention getting and memorable!
And when it comes to being less of a stranger
to yourself, and beginning to understand your
own world view, there was nothing that could
compare to American Political Values with Sister Peg