The students chose their royal Kings And Queens, of course, but my choice for the Queen of the prom was Sue Silverstein, a school teacher who gave her heart, blood, and soul to her students for 24 years, almost all of them at Bishop Maginn.
How many lives she touched, how much comfort she offered, how much pain she eased, how much love she gave. How can there be any left? Despite all their troubles, the Catholic Church managed to do a lot of good.
I could barely keep from crying watching the love her students had for her, some going back decades. Many brought their new families to meet, hug, and cry with her.
Sue is my closest friend and an angel, come to us to show us the power of love and dedication.
I don’t care what anybody says, the night belonged to her, and to the students, she loved so much. I’m putting up some photos now, more later, and tomorrow.
Sorry, it took so long to post these photos, the night wore me down but was worth every second.
Sue’s work will continue at a different school, this one is called Bishop Gibbon, and all the refugee students are going with her. So am I. She is Zinnia’s Godmother and insists she’s her dog on loan to me. I won’t argue with her; I would lose.
I wish I could have stayed later, but I think I caught the spirit of the place.
I did miss the dancing, which went on until 11 a.m. Congratulations to Sue and the Prom Committee, they really outdid themselves. I had a sip of the Jon Katz drink -“Katz Got Your Tongue, “but choked on the sweetness.
It was all syrup, of course.
Zinnia was stellar as always, there was no parade on the red carpet, but she was thrilled to see her many friends, including those who helped train her.
(It was touching to see the alumni return and re-unite; they were so happy to see one another and wanted to say goodbye to the school, which they loved very much.)
I hope you enjoy the photographs; they were taken with my Iphone 13 and my Leica 2 color camera. See if you can tell which was which.
(The refugee kids are shy, not used to looking so glamorous, and are taught modesty, but they seemed to love it very much.)
(Kids love to dress up and they love to pose, especially with their friends.)
(The boys were stylish and poised, they loved walking on the red carpet.)
(Perhaps the sweetest thing I saw was how much Sue and the school meant to the graduates, scores of whom returned to thank her and say goodby to Bishop Maginn. They wanted their children to see it before it closed. They came one after another.)
(The girls took the red carpet seriously and posed like pageant contestants.)
(The boys exuded calm and sophistication. They’ve spent time on Instagram)
(From Myanmar, one of the first girls on the red carpet.)
(Gracie Ryan and Zinnia had a beautiful reunion. Gracie graduated from Bishop Maginn last year and helped me train Zinnia for therapy work. Zinnia knew her right away and smothered her with kisses. Next to Sue, Gracie is Zinnia’s greatest fan.)
(Many girls bowed to me as I took their photos to show modesty and humility. They are not used to showing off. It was a joy to see these kids, who had suffered so much, so happy.)
(Everybody wanted a last look at the hallways where they spent so much of their lives. For many of the refugee schools, Bishop Maginn – and Sue especially – were the promised land, a safe and loving place after years of horror and struggle.
(Family after the family came in to hug Sue and introduce her to their new families and sit down and catch up. She had time to crouch down and talk to all of them. I cannot believe that she remembered every one of their names. She has enough love in her for every one of these children.)
(The last Royal Prom Court of Bishop Maginn High School. All grades got to go to the prom and chose their own King and Queen, a beautiful tableau of the real America.)
More photos coming later tomorrow. Thanks for sharing this with me. I’ll never forget it.
