A leap of faith
I’m writing this exactly one year since my first piece in the Bluffton Sun was printed. I’ve always enjoyed writing and putting thoughts down “on paper.” I started teaching mathematics at the high school and college level in 1975, and with the exception of a two year stop over as an operations analyst for a Wall Street firm in the late 70s, I continued doing that as my main occupation until my very soft landing from 2013 until 2021 as a part time middle school teacher.
Full retirement, coupled with a variety of different thoughts brought us to Bluffton in August of ‘21. Anyone who has taken the quantum leap from a profession they thoroughly enjoyed, that occupied 67% of their time on the planet, to having absolutely no structure or responsibilities knows that it can be a very interesting transition. Couple that with a move to a new area, where we knew absolutely no one, from an area where both of us had never lived more than 30 miles from where we both grew up, surrounded by family and decade long friendships, and “interesting” becomes an understatement. I did take a job teaching in the Berkshires for two years early on, but that was only a short 120 miles from where I grew up as well as a move into another school and with that came immediate responsibilities and connections.
The first year or so here was one of simple decompression from the high wire act without a net that is teaching. We explored new restaurants, beaches, local trails and took the occasional trip “home” as well as welcoming visitors. We both knew that having no direction was not sustainable and Sue found her way to Palmetto Animal League as a volunteer pretty quickly, something she thoroughly enjoys.
I was content walking Abbey THE dog, running, swimming laps while the pool was open, playing some mediocre golf, reading, listening to music and simply practicing “Il dolce far niente”. The sweetness of doing nothing is, in its best form, not about laziness, but rather about the pleasure and contentment found in idleness, appreciating simple moments. It embodies the idea of finding joy in relaxation and appreciating the present moment.
While I have added virtual golf, and a fascinating exercise program courtesy of my new toy, the Quest 3 headset, I was still missing some creative outlet to replace over four decades of preparation, and daily interaction with 120 kids and a myriad of colleagues “talking story” (a phrase I learned on my first trip to Hawaii). For a variety of reasons, mathematics is viewed by many as a rigid, rote process and honestly, for me, nothing could be further from the truth. It really is just another “world” language, though the phase I grew up with “foreign” language is likely more on point for a lot of folks. It possesses its own vocabulary, grammar and set of rules as does French, Spanish, Latin, German, Mandarin Chinese, ASL, Italian, and so on.
What I found missing, very early on in my time at the front of the classroom, were the stories it had to tell both from a historical perspective and current events. I discovered for the most part that success in the classroom had a lot to do with making it relatable and weaving stories personal as well as historical into each part of a new topic. The eternal question: “Why are we doing this” no longer needed to be answered, because the idea of using the language of mathematics to attack a problem as small as working on a vacation budget or saving money to buy a car is pretty much something everyone will run into at some point.
Introduce the long term plan to put funds away for the future as the basis for exponential compound growth and those necessary formulas along with logarithmic manipulations don’t seem as far fetched. Head to more specialized interests and use geometry and trigonometry to help explain whether it is more efficient to throw a ball through the cutoff position in baseball or softball, or directly home something that both boys and girls who play the game or just enjoy watching the game will become fascinated by. Use optimization problems in calculus to decide how to best use resources given certain conditions for operating a business or making a college decision and you have hit another segment of your population.
When you consider that the rules of mathematics have not changed in centuries, it becomes the tales you weave that make it either enthralling or hideous, compelling and interesting or dreadful and something to be endured or avoided.
I have always been drawn to stories both short and long, I love music and the lyrics are just as important to me as the music so when I was given the opportunity by the Bluffton Sun to contribute a piece to each edition I jumped at the chance. Most of the time I have a germ of an idea for the next piece that grows while swimming, or walking, or just sitting and reading. These last few weeks though it was as if I had hit a full blown roadblock. I was struggling to come up with an idea and then it did hit me… what about the actual reason for writing, to share ideas, and to “talk story” and to interweave how our new location and home contribute to that very process.
I think the best way is to let Mr. Springsteen play us out of this with some words of his from 33 years back when he took his leap of faith, “relocated” his musial home, and tried some years of solo work (though he found his way “ back home” and still in his 70’s with the E-Street Band puts on a show not to be missed)
“It takes a leap of faith to get things going
It takes a leap of faith, you gotta show some guts
It takes a leap of faith to get things going
There in your heart, there you must trust”
Kevin Fitzpatrick is a retired teacher who, along with his wife Sue (also a retired teacher) is enjoying exploring life in the lowcountry and all it has to offer.
