Thank You Mrs. Lowry

I was not her star pupil by a long shot. But my junior and senior year English teacher at Montgomery Bell Academy had more impact on me than she or I could have ever imagined. I was a bit of a geek, even in the 60s, always into mechanical/electrical stuff, destined to become an engineer. But one great thing about a good education is that it doesn’t let you get by just doing what you think you like. It exposes you to a broad-based range of studies that will serve you well in your life. And Mrs. Lowry was passionate about the English language, its literature, and its proper use. She made us understand, “THIS IS IMPORTANT!”

So it was with English. We had to turn in a 500 word composition (Theme) every week for four years at MBA. Each was read and critiqued closely for content and style by our teacher—no mercy for spelling or grammatical errors. Only later, in my working life, would I learn the importance of the ability to express thoughts clearly in writing. Over the years, I’ve used the skills learned at MBA in my early engineering career, my sales and business executive career, and as an entrepreneur for 40 years when I had to write everything from technical product design descriptions, to marketing literature, websites, and sales proposals, to business plans and investment solicitations.

Now that I’m retired, I would really like to do more varied writing, but I haven’t found my muse, as they say, so I’ve just experimented with my blog a bit, trying to find a voice and a topic of interest. My wife, Estelle, has been an inspiration, with her own passion for literature and her success as a writer.

So, when Mountain Travel Sobek, an adventure travel company I’ve had experience with, launched a story contest for their 50^th anniversary in March of 2019, I thought I would give it a shot. It was limited to 800 words and five photos, so not too far from my old MBA theme days.  I mostly wanted to see if I could capture the unique adventure I had experienced with a great group of friends back in 2014. I was aware that MTS in their fifty years had probably taken over 50,000 people on amazing trips all over the world, and I knew many of those had good stories to tell. And that the $12,000 travel prize would entice more than a few to submit. But I also knew ours was a unique experience and, if captured effectively in those 800 words, would have a good chance to be published in their Anniversary Journal, and who knows, maybe even be the winner. I was in South Africa at the time, on a six month stay. Writing a story like this was the kind of thing that would never have risen high enough up my list to get done when I was working, but hey, I’m retired now.

Because it shared personal stories and photos of friends in the group, I checked with them to make sure they were ok with the possible publication and then plowed ahead. I am repeatedly amazed at how long it takes to write an 800 word piece. And, as you will understand if you read the story, trying to represent that experience in 800 words was one of the more difficult things I’ve tried in a long time. The experience was just too powerful, personal, and important not to give it all I could to make it perfect. So, after several drafts, with editing help from friends and family over a week of pretty solid writing, I ended up with the story I submitted, one day before the deadline. I was excited to learn, a week later, that it was indeed accepted to be published as one of the anniversary journal stories. Main goal achieved.

On April 18, my 72^nd birthday as it happens, I received notice that my story, “Finding Footholds in the Darkness”, had been selected by their panel (including MT Sobek's CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder), as the Winner of their 50^th Anniversary Story contest.

So, thank you, Mrs. Lowry, rest in peace.

P.S. When looking up a reference to cite on Mrs. Lowry I discovered this article, published at the time of her death in 2007. Clearly, I was one of thousands that she influenced over her 50 years teaching at MBA.