Hear You Me

So, I don't think I've ever had to write a blog before about someone particularly important to me who has passed away. Yesterday, the news was passed on to me that Dr. Michael Kerlin of the Philosophy department at La Salle passed away. No cause was given, but I assume it was due to a relapse of the Leukemia which kept him from us part of freshman year.

Dr. Kerlin was part of my introduction to La Salle--an introduction to the world of true college professorship. He believed in the Socratic method, but always with his own witty comments interspersed.

We still never figured out if he had creamy or dreamy blue eyes...

I remember a majority of what he taught us because he was so very special...and his lessons were so memorable. Kant's philosophy from Critique of Pure Reason as taught to us through Kerlin's famous "Kant's Box." Plato's Cave. Spinoza, Kierkegaard...the list goes onward, all in an effort to teach us to contemplate "The Good Life." I remember before we left for Dr. Butler's Lit class every day, he'd tell us to tell Butler to "get to some real teaching" or "admit [Dr. Kerlin's] superiority" to which Butler would have a chuckle and send another fictitious, humorous barb back at him. [Seen in picture, second from left receiving an award for Lifetime Lasallian education]

I also remember he would always come to the Band and Masque shows just if we asked him. We didn't have to hound him like other professors, because one time was enough. He had the interest, empathy, and care of a child--he was so knowledgeable, and yet his demeanor was as if he had everything to learn. At the end of the year, he invited us to a dinner at his home where we talked with him and his wife, finally met Tiger the cat (who was far less ferocious than he fabled the cat to be) and we realized that he's the same man he is at home that he is in the classroom.

The last time I saw Dr. Kerlin was promising. This past year during alumni weekend, I saw him at the big final celebration in the tent on the quad. He came with his wife, and they even danced! It made me so happy because it meant Dr. Kerlin would be back to deliver his fantastic brand of Philosophy to another generation of La Salle students. I've been asking people all year where he was, or how he was. I never got an answer until last night.

I want to share a quote from the Woody Allen movie Crimes and Misdemeanors because he made sure we watched this movie in its totality. The quote is from Woody Allen's character Clifford Stern:

While we're waiting for a cab I'll give you your lesson for today. Don't listen to what your teachers tell ya, you know. Don't pay attention. Just, just see what they look like and that's how you'll know what life is really gonna be like.

It sums up the man. He'll have a legacy at La Salle. He'll become mythical as many great professors do. I also hope that they hang a sign over the frozen yogurt machine. Farewell to a great man.

May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.

So what would you think of me now,
so lucky, so strong, so proud?
I never said thank you for that,
now I'll never have a chance.

Peace and Good Things