“We didn’t realize we
were making memories.
We just knew that
we were having fun.” 
Winnie the Pooh

Fifty years ago, in the spring of 1975, my high school classmate Dan Pasini and I spent the academic year teaching in the Bahamas. It hardly seems possible that so much time has passed since that life-changing experience.

The photo above was taken at a reception following a liturgical celebration of the 25th anniversary of one of our Saint Augustine’s College colleagues as a Sister of Charity of New York. Dan and I had been asked to be the music ministers for the event at Saint Francis Xavier Cathedral in Nassau.

Our experience in the Bahamas was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At no point during the year did Dan or I give much thought to the fact that we were making some incredible memories for ourselves. Like Winnie the Pooh, we just knew we were having fun.

To say that Dan and I were under-qualified for our teaching jobs would be an understatement. We each had two years of college under our belt — no degree, no credential, and no full-time teaching experience. What we had to offer included our experience working with youth in a variety of other settings, our willingness to accept a challenging invitation, our unexplainable confidence that we would be successful in the endeavor, and our faith in God. The words of Dr. Seuss proved to be prophetic. He said, “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” So true.

Our stay in the Bahamas was for just one year — a perfect length of time for such an extraordinary experience. As author Robert Breault said, “The happiest memories are the memories that ended when they should have.” As inviting as a second year at Saint Augustine’s College might have been, Dan and I knew our future was not in the Bahamas. Dan returned to complete his undergraduate degree at Loyola-Marymount University in Los Angeles, while I completed my bachelor’s degree at Santa Clara University. One year of memories, it seems, was enough for one lifetime.

Why, after fifty years, would I still have vivid memories of my Bahamian adventure? Writer Oscar Wilde had something to say about this. He wrote, “Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.” Although the 1974-75 academic year was a blip in my career, it was the first and, perhaps, most significant of my 43 years in education. As I mentioned previously, Dan and I were not conscious of the fact that we were making memories in Nassau. I know I never gave it a thought, and I doubt Dan did, either. American essayist Barbara Kingsolver, however, made this astute observation: “It’s surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time.” Again, so true.

As Dan and I acknowledge the fiftieth anniversary of our island adventure, Saint Augustine’s College is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the founding of the school. I would love to jump on a flight to Nassau sometime in the next two months to spend a week or so reminiscing, reconnecting with former students and colleagues, visiting the campus, hanging out on Bay Street, and enjoying a plate of conch fritters and a pint of Bahamian beer at The Poop Deck on East Bay Street. I think Dan might be up for such a journey, as well. Much has changed in fifty years, but much is just as it was in 1975.    

Where our memories were made, when those memories were made, and with whom those memories were made are important. So, too, are the memories themselves. While I would certainly like to revisit the island in spring 2025, American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan offered this pearl of wisdom: “Take care of all your memories, for you cannot relive them.” So true, yet again.