Now I didn't personally ever get to have Dr. Derryberry as a professor in my time here at SBU. I did however, have the chance to encounter him a few times and know several good friends who did have him as a teacher. Dr. Derryberry every time I encountered him was a smiling, happy man. The couple of times I did encounter him he also left an impression on me even though he said but few words any of those times but I will remember, particularly in this time, how his simple little action of telling me I was a gentleman and a scholar impressed on me. I cannot say for certain but I am very positive that he was the first person to ever say that to me and for sometime such a thing has struck me. I feel like neither of those things. I do not spend much of my time in study, I do not dedicate my life to the pursuit of knowledge how am I a scholar? I also do not find myself very often opening doors for ladies and elder men who are my senior, how then am I a gentleman? I cannot answer these questions and I don't know if it matters if I can or cannot what matters is that a man who is no longer with us impressed on me in a way that has made me look at my life. I say to you today the world lost a saint but his life has encouraged many young people to not give up on dreams or themselves. While SBU sits in mourning this morning our lives will continue on tomorrow and the day after that. Dr. Derryberry will live in the memory of many a student and colleague and someday we will have the chance to encounter him again but until then we bid him goodbye and wish that bright scholar the rest he so deserves. One love.
εἰμί ὀλιγόπιστος מרנא תא – Lord, come I am of little faith.
P.S. I wanted to add this in because I feel like it is appropriate.
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