Dunstan Too
The music master, an educated, intelligent and thoughtful man, says he was asked only one question in the planning of the new chapel. That was, “How many seats did I need?” Otherwise, the planning was “outsourced,” he says, and before he could beat out 32 bars the plans appeared on paper. And now the chapel is nearly built.
For months now, from fall, through the winter, and into the spring a large crew of men has been working daily to enlarge and rebuild the century-old chapel. Now in the last days before graduation there is suddenly a fleet of white trucks, bearing different insignia, converged along the roads. A furniture van was unloading large boxes today, presumably the seats for Sunday. Tomorrow at 5 there’s to be a bell rung, inviting people to gather briefly in the chapel for some minutes of appreciation and looking around. The school community, at least those there at 5:00 will be able to meet and greet the workers, and vice versa.
This brings me to thoughts of the next big project, or vision, the big and impressive academic center, which will house a variety of vaguely hinted at functions. I will attempt to articulate what I see as desirable, but talking with the m.m. today does not encourage me to think that I’ll be listened to. Certainly a preemptive strike is called for. After that, well, that’s existential.
