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Don’t Keep It Hid
I plopped down on a park-style bench after a routine appointment. Waiting for my ride gave me time to spend with the book I’ve been reading.
As I pulled the book from my bag, a plaque on the ground caught my attention. It read, “In Memory of Michael R. Redmond, MD” (Years of patrolling a classroom honed my excellent upside-down reading skills.)
I began to open my book but something nudged my consciousness. I tapped the late doctor’s name into my phone’s browser app.
Names are hyperlinks to stories
When you think about it, everything has some name with a story. The streets, the school, the town, the ballpark…
The late singer Jim Croce penned a hit song that rose to #10 nationally called I Got a Name. Jim Croce’s tunes filled the house growing up. My parents had many of his albums.
Like the pine trees lining the winding road
I got a name, I got a name
Like the singin’ bird and the croakin’ toad
I got a name, I got a name
(Many people misunderstand the song title as Movin’ Me Down the Highway)
Even this bench has a name attached to it: Dr. Michael R. Redmond.
An eye doctor for kids
Dr. Michael R. Redmond (1943-2011) legacy.com
Dr. Redmond accomplished much at every stage in his life (the narrative is here). A quote about his life’s work as a pediatric ophthalmologist stuck out to me.
The most rewarding aspect of his work has been ‘helping kids see.’ Dr. Redmond said, ‘If you take a 70 year old and give that person better sight for ten years, that’s a good thing; if you take a five year old and give that child 80 years of vision, I think you’ve done something extra.’
Let that sink in.
Nothing is lost in serving anyone of any age. From the nursing home caregiver to the neighbor who visits with an elderly friend and every age in between, we all play a role.
The memorial plaque simply showed me that Dr. Redmond’s path to working for kids is like teachers and parents pouring their life’s work into the youngest generation.
It takes effort, thick skin, and the ability to be thankful in most situations.
Find a story today
To you teachers and parents reading this: as you shift into the summer phase of life and recharge those mental and emotional batteries, think about Dr. Redmond’s simple quote.
Do yourself a favor: notice a name today and see if you can find the story. The street sign, the park bench, or even the employee of the month poster at the local coffee shop; there’s something to appreciate.
Transfer five minutes of scroll time to searching the name. Heck, when you find the story, drop it in the comments below or tell me in a message.
Closing with Croce
If your day involves the road, invite Jim Croce onto your playlist and take a few nuggets of wisdom from I Got a Name.
I got a Name, I got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I’m livin’ the dream, that he kept hid
Don’t keep it “hid.” Get out there and find a name!
Published in GeneralMovin’ me down the highway
Rollin’ me down the highway
Movin’ ahead so life won’t pass me by
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Dr. Redmond sounds like a truly admirable man.
And I wouldn’t have taken the time to learn about him if I hadn’t taken a load off for a few minutes and practiced a little curiosity. I have to remind myself of this every day.
Your posting a message about this episode has been a good thing…it will encourage more of it.
I have a small family cemetery on my property. I’m planning to put a bench in the yard where it is, with some plaques about the folks who have stones there. I want to put on some bullet points about their lives so people know more than just their names and dates. They’re my people.
What an outstanding endeavor! A cemetery is a natural location for this contemplation. I appreciate when eulogists and others call attention to the “dash” between life and death as an on-ramp to discussing a person’s experiences. Be sure to take some photos when your project is realized.
Will do. I’m having a local craftsman build the wrought iron bench. I found a company that makes very nice metal plaques for reasonable prices.
I often use cemeteries as places to take a
brakebreak on my bicycle rides. Sometimes I am at a cemetery to look for graves of persons in local history; sometimes there are clues to family relations etc. that were not told about in local histories. But other times I have no specific objectives; I just like to learn what I can.I’m also the sort of person who will sit on stone benches or other benches in cemeteries to rest and to think about the people whose remains are nearby. I might feel like a bit of an intruder, but I do it anyway.
I have a good friend who calls cemeteries “outdoor museums.” He’s been instrumental in organizing a local historical society event, where some of our talented friends dress up as the people buried there might have looked, and tell their stories. There is a surprising amount of information about people in generations that preceded us, if you know where to look. I’m working on a book about the variety show circuit in the West around the turn of the century, and there is a lot of primary source material from local records and newspapers. It must have been fun to work for those old newspapers; I can picture it, because I spent a lot of time setting type by hand.
Oh, btw, the company I mentioned is American Cast Bronze Plaques. If you want a really nice house number for your front door, you should check them out.