DEM APPLES

You may have noticed the logo on my home page–an apple–and wondered why. The apple has become my life symbol, and, in fact, I literally collect them. There are ceramic apples, all sizes and colors, in various spots throughout my home.

The obvious significance is “an apple for the teacher,” and that certainly applies. I am privileged to have completed—in 2020–fifty years of teaching. I never could have imagined all the places that calling would take me—that I would have taught virtually every “grade”–yes, really. After six-and-a-half years of public high school teaching in both the English and business departments, I began teaching part time for three different colleges. My longest stint was at Ohio University-Lancaster, where I taught full time for twenty-two years and then retired–sort of. I say “sort of” because, during the time I was at Ohio University, God was birthing something new in me. What started as an avocation—music––became so much more. I began directing adult choirs, then children’s choirs, and, before I realized what was happening, my second career had begun. The directing experiences led to my position as music teacher for a preschool and founder-director of a community children’s choir.

Time ripens the substance of a life as the seasons mellow and perfect its fruits. The best apples fall latest and keep longest.

Amos Bronson Alcott

So those fifty years of teaching have encompassed every age from toddlers––to tots––to teens––and all the way to nontraditional college students, some of whom were older than I and called me “Honey.” Thus, my apple for the teacher.

The next apple of significance is the Big Apple, the home of Broadway, the home of musicals and amazing theatre. Musical theatre has been a passion of mine since I was a child and could sing every word of “My Fair Lady,” “South Pacific,” “Carousel”, “Oklahoma,” and “The Music Man.” As an adult, I was blessed to play leading roles in two of those shows!

And apples are always associated with good health. When I was growing up, the big health mantra was, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” To this day, they are my favorite fruit.

In mid-life, I experienced another “apple,” which was a major conversion from IBM and the PC to literal Apple products, They are now my connection to the world–a Mac, an ipad, an ipod, and, of course, an iPhone.

Speaking of conversion, I also gave my life to Christ at age 44, which ultimately led me to verses of Scripture that mention apples. Because of my Jewish heritage, I was pleased to learn that God considers Israel the “apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8); that believers are also the apple of His eye (Proverbs 17:18); that His teaching is to be the “apple of our eyes”(Proverbs 7:2). And as a writer-communicator, I particularly cling to this: “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

I hope, when you visit this site, you’ll find many “apples of gold”—some sweet, some tart, some delicious…

TRIVIA FUN: We’ve all heard the expression, “How d’ya like them apples?” Did you know this line is spoken by Will Hunting, played by Matt Damon, in Good Will Hunting? After getting his love interest’s phone number in a bar, Will bangs on the window of Dunkin Donuts, where sits his taunting, braggadocious rival who who was sure he would get it. Will asks through the glass if he likes apples. The man replies that a crisp Gala apple is delightful on a sunny fall day. Will slams the paper with number against the window and says, “Well, I-I-I-I got her number. How do you like them apples?” (via Schmoop)