he called me moonbeam

January 21, 2022

My dear teacher, Dr. Stewart Dippel, passed away recently. He was a dear friend. A believer in me. A believer in all of us at the University of the Ozarks. I wrote these words to honor his life, his personality, his character, and his faith:

Prayerful Consideration

Paradise Lost
Blue books
Crew neck sweatshirts

Coffee stains
Russian trains
Illegible scribbles on the page

Talking trash
His favorite thing
Never to forget the days

Racquetball scores
Political science awards
Hanging on to what he would say

The conversations
Inside that space
Paradise Regained

Derailing the day
Forgetting to cover that case
Pushing back the next essay

Poverty assignments
Kitchen table guidance
Leading us to the promised land

Constitutional law
Nicknames
Showing up to class late

DC internships
LSAT prep
Dr. Jeffries calling visual hindrance

Softball teams
Flag football dreams
Ohio State everything

Rolling Rock laughter
Joe Hoeing
A new chapter

Crooked glasses
Same jacket
Always messy hair

Legal pad
Briefcase bag
Carrying black coffee

Guiding us
Finding us
Starting revolutions

Brothers and Sisters
The Man himself
Dr. Dippel
Bringing Paradise to Clarksville