During spring break, I had the opportunity to travel to New York City for vacation.
It was a wonderful experience! I had the chance to have dinner with my nephew who lives out there, as well as lunch with a coworker’s daughter, and former student, and I even ran into some friends from Monroe in Times Square. My trip included visits to Chinatown, Little Italy, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Today Show — nope I didn’t make it on TV that morning — as well as a moving visit to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.
I also was blessed to see many Broadway shows while I was out there. I realize that not everyone is a musical theater fan, but I would encourage you (especially those of you with children and grandchildren) to take them to see live theater. In my opinion, there is nothing better! The great part of theater is it is just that: alive. What happens in front of you is happening in “real time.” It is happening due to hours and hours of preparation, due to impeccable timing and people willing (and able) to share their talent so we as the audience can be entertained for a couple of hours.
It also happens that New York City is a huge destination for high school and middle school class trips in the spring. So the idea of “escaping” during spring break to get away from school; that just didn’t happen. But what did happen was this: I saw a variety of students, of all ages, get to experience live theater. For many, it was their first time.
I remember at intermission of one of the shows, one high school “theater nerd” was surrounded by his classmates who were grilling him with questions: “What happens next? Why did he treat him that way? How does he get out of this trouble?” And so on, and so on. The passion and excitement that flowed from these young people just made me smile. That is why I love the theater. It awakens a passion and admiration for great storytelling. Storytelling so real that if you sit close enough, you can see the sweat rolling off of the actor’s foreheads. It is the ability to stand in front of thousands of people eight times a week and lay it all on the line. It is the ability to invoke passion and emotion through words, movement, and most importantly, voice.
During my trip to New York I was able to experience one of those show that invoked passion and emotion in me. One of the shows I had the opportunity to attend was a musical called, “Come From Away.” It is a true story of the people of Gander, Newfoundland. The people of Gander welcomed 38 planes that were rerouted when American airspace closed on September 11, 2001. The population of Gander was approximately 10,000. On that day, and for the days that followed, they opened their community to almost 7,000 strangers with no place to go. In the midst of all the chaos that was happening, this tiny community almost doubled in size and offered each of these strangers a place to call “home” for a few days. They provided food, beds, showers and security. While watching this musical I was in complete and utter awe of the sense of compassion and love of neighbor that was on display.
It also made me start to think. How would I act if I was in the same place as those people of Gander?
We have always been told to “love thy neighbor.” But have you ever taken the time to think, “Who is my neighbor? Who is one who needs my help the most?”
Our lives become so busy and so distracted by what we think is important that I believe we miss the opportunity to be that neighbor to those who need it most. In our culture and society today, we get bombarded with a lot of “us vs. them” mentality. We have become a divided country. We have lost the ability to even look at our neighbor, especially if their views are different than ours.
Where has the idea of loving our neighbor gone to? Where is the compassion and ability to recognize and appreciate differences and uniqueness?
Being in New York City allowed me the opportunity to see that our country is a melting pot. There is not a better place in the world to see that “love of neighbor.” The events that were on display in “Come From Away” as well as the moving tribute to those who lost their lives during the attacks on 9/11, especially those police, emergency workers and firemen. Seeing these things made me realize this: If I don’t love my neighbor, no matter their ethnicity, age, religious affiliation, or political view, then who will? It must be our calling in this life. It must be what we teach our children and grandchildren.
The world needs this concept, this ideal and this belief more than ever before.
Can you believe it? All of these thoughts, ideas and emotions from a Broadway musical. If you haven’t been to the theater lately, look at what you are missing!
— Joe Peters is the principal at St. Victor School in Monroe. His column appears on the second Saturday of each month. He can be reached at joepeters@stvictormonroe.org.
