The Class of 1965 from Mount Carmel High School will be celebrating its 40-year reunion tonight at PB5 Restaurant and tomorrow at the Springside Inn. I saved this little story to share with you today, thinking perhaps it is most appropriate.

On a Saturday earlier this summer, I was out in the yard and had an unexpected visit from a stranger. A very nice gentleman (whose name escapes me) and his wife pulled up along the side of the house, and he came over to introduce himself and ask me a question. He explained that he grew up in the house across the street and although he has moved away, he still comes home every summer. We got talking about all the memories it must hold for him to come back each year.

He fondly recalled when he went to Mount Carmel - along with his five best buddies, all from this same neighborhood. They would all gather at his house in the morning and his grandmother would fix them breakfast before they walked to school. He said it was a strict but good school, and you learned early that when instruction was given - the brothers meant what they said. He said they gave him the encouragement and discipline he needed to work to the best of his ability, and for that he will forever be grateful.

He and his friends all earned scholarships to universities, due to the grades they received at Carmel, and they all went on to have successful careers. He told (not at all in a bragging way, but in a very grateful way) how he was sitting in a fancy office in Bejing, waiting to speak with some government official, and it occurred to him that there are two reasons why he made it that far; he had really great parents, and the brothers at Mount Carmel.

He stays in touch with the brothers to this day - that really made an impression on me.

How many times I have wanted to thank my teachers, especially from grade school. I enjoyed this little visit with him very much and I thought perhaps some of you would enjoy it too, as I have heard many great stories about Mount Carmel in the past. I hope that their reunion this weekend will bring back many happy memories for all.

I imagine that many of us can relate to his experiences as a youth. We can all remember a time, not too long ago, when there were seven Catholic grade schools in Auburn; St. Alphonsus, St. Mary's, Holy Family, Sacred Heart, St. Hyacinth's, St. Francis of Assisi and SS. Peter and Paul.

There is nothing I am more grateful for than my parents and family, and my grade school years at Holy Family School - they were the best.

I still love the childhood memory of sitting in those old classrooms, with a spring breeze coming through those long tall windows and the sense that all was well in the world. Special thanks to some of our wonderful teachers who are still in the area.

You were all the very best and we share many happy memories from Holy Family School: Joe Lopiccolo, Bill Donofrio, Ann Cullen, Michelene Lavey, Helen Delaney, Barbara Lynch Wallace, Jim LaDouce and Jack Gilfus.

God loves you. Send me your good news.

"Recommend to your children virtue; that alone can make them happy, not gold." Lugwig Van Beethoven

Denise Bennett is a parishioner at Holy Family Church in Auburn. She can be reached at deniseb132@yahoo.com