Relay for Life

On April 8th I will be participating in the 2011 Relay for Life. (Emily Jacke posted about participating last year I believe). The relay is a great event that raises money for the American Cancer Society. To quote them,

"The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay, teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight events up to 24 hours in length."

Needless to say, I am doing this in Jesse's honor. The team I'm on (called "Cancertainly Sucks") has a total fundraising goal of $1000. We would love to meet and surpass our goal. The team is made up of members of a student-run grief support group, and several of us have lost loved ones to cancer. So far I have reached out to Jesse and my generation at NMH, but thought that his larger community would be equally interested. Please feel free to forward this information on.

Please help! Go to my page http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY11National?px=19094203&pg=personal&fr_id=29326 and have a look around and maybe donate a couple bucks. The website is really well set up and there's lots of information about the event and where the money goes. I'm doing this because I loved Jesse and hate cancer. If you feel the same way, please consider giving.

Thank you,

Annie

Meat Pie! J. Julius!

Another posting (below) from the NMH Library blog. This time we were publicizing a Meat Pie performance. I'm not sure who did the drawings. I loved the energy, enthusiasm, sense of fun and adventure these young musicians brought to the library! We're all thinking of you, Jesse - Pam Allan

................

Please join us in the library for Acoustic Friday with improvisational string quartet MEAT PIE!

Friday, May 25, 2007, 4-5 PM

• Harlin , Viola
• Sue , Cello
• Lysander, Violin
• Jesse , Violin

Thursdays with Jesse

In the fall semester of our senior year, Jesse and I spent a great deal of time together, because we had all of our courses together. We became a little unit: traveling back and forth between Blake, Cutler, Beveridge, and Schauffler Library, bemoaning our homework load and talking each other through the stress of early decision college applications.

Though this was a stressful time in our lives, we both took great joy in what would happen on Thursday. We would get out of Erik Cooper's AP European History Class (see picture below) at 11:00.

We would promptly sprint up to the dining hall, which had just opened moments ago, where we would walk right past the other food to get to the taco bar which was only there on Thursdays, where we would quickly slap together a taco or two each, grab a cup of coffee, and precariously balance these items in our hands as we rushed to Cutler Science Center for our Environmental Science class, laughing and leaving a little trail of spilt coffee in our wake.

Panting, we would fall into our seats beside each other and wolf down our tacos during the first several minutes of class. Because class was extended on this particular day, our teacher, Becca Leslie, always brought a delicious assortment of doughnuts, which Jesse and I would always happily sample. After class, we would head back up to the dining hall, usually too full to eat (although on occasion we would make nachos at the taco bar) and spend a while just sitting there, stomachs full, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation in that stressful period of our lives.

Also, because I can't resist: us and our final Environmental Science project, the genius of which was fueled on tacos, too much coffee, and our extensive knowledge of eutrophication.

-Lilly Richardson/ Ithaca, NY/ NMH '08

From the librarians at NMH to our Keeper of the Clock

Jesse, you were one of our beloved regulars at the NMH Library. Everything about you stood out for us -- your sense of humor, your easy-going manner, your natty dressing, your intelligence.

I remember how happy I was the day you talked about how you hoped to be an architect someday and you shared your inspiring vision of how you would transform the NMH Library with a beautiful new addition.

Jesse, you know you had a special role for us in the library, as our Keeper of the Clock.

(An antique grandfather clock sits in the library. Jesse had noticed that the clock would often wind down and stop or the chimes would get out of sync. We were, of course, delighted to hand him the key to the clock and we never had to worry about the clock again once it was in Jesse's attentive care!)

The following is from a library blog entry about Jesse. (I'll need to post to this blog again, to talk about Jesse's performances as part of Meat Pie!) - Pam Allan

............................................................

Here we have Jesse, a senior day student and clock winder extraordinaire. We caught Jesse in between classes to sit down for a little one on one.

Jesse: So, you're interviewing me, that's weird.
Nick: Yeah, my workjob is a little weird.
J: You think YOUR workjob is weird? I wind a CLOCK!
N: You do have a point. How did you get started on this clock winding adventure of yours anyway?
J: Well, technically I work in the archives, but winding the clock is something I was asked to do initially by one of the librarians - I think it was Pam. Anyway, I love the old fashioned mechanics of a real clock. Nothing beats that.
N: So, how often do you do it?
J: The clock is supposed to be wound about once a week, but I actually wind it twice a week.
N: Now that's dedication. Do you think you'll miss the clock next year once you're off to college?
J: Definitely. Winding that clock is a comforting ritual. I will certainly miss that.
N: Any ideas of who you'll take on as a clock winding apprentice?
J: I'm looking into that, and I'm actually considering interviews.

There you have it folks, and for those interested in become the next NMH Library clock winder keep an eye out!

(This was written before Jesse graduated from NMH. The clock key was passed on to Lysander. - Pam)

http://nmhlibrary.typepad.com/blog/2008/03/the-keeper-of-t.html

Dancing

I guess Jesse never stopped playing dress up. I'm glad I had the chance to play along:

This was at the Chat in May, 2008. Jesse had been diagnosed only a few weeks before, and spent much of the evening roaming between the tables after food to assuage his voracious, steroid induced appetite, between bouts of waltzing to the loud hip-hop and fanning ourselves on the benches provided to flesh out the "Central Park" theme. We would have taken a carriage ride, too, but my hoop skirt would not have fit through the doors. He was there and every bit the gentleman and enjoying every moment of it. It was one of the best nights of my life, not only because I had an excellent friend as a date, but because it was so clear that he was enjoying himself in a way he hadn't gotten to for a while.

Emily Jacke, Jaffrey, NH (NMH '08)