Next up is from my photography project, We All Have a Story, is Janet.  Janet's story is one of loss, sacrifice, hope, and love. I met her at a local coffee shop where we discussed everything from children, marriage, and relationships to losing and gaining self-esteem as well as her work as an educator.  For so many of us, we have a lot of personal stories to tell so the interview is such a key part of this process to help focus in on one particular story or concept.  To say Janet has been through the wringer is an understatement, but where she is now is a true statement of the type of person she is. Her daughters mean the world to her and the fact that she chose to be photographed in front of her home speaks to what she has earned on her own.

 In her words:

My Heart

It’s a fragile thing, this heart of mine

It’s been lost, broken & tangled like twine

This heart has been used

This heart has been abused

It’s been shattered when others have felt the truth didn’t matter

When a lover says one thing and does another, pieces break and like the four winds scatter

It’s a fragile thing, this heart of mine.

It seeks light when there’s none, holds on through storms, with a grip from none

And continues to love, and hope, even though love is done

This heart seeks to love where there has been only pain

This heart yearns for companionship amidst angst and strain

It’s been questioned and severed, been leveraged and denied

When lost and broken, this heart has even cried

It’s a fragile thing, this heart of mine… and yet

It loves with a strength stronger than steel

It craves the light and yearns to feel

This heart is willing to suffer again… and again

To ride the storm and endure the pain, for when…

When the once in a lifetime will finally arrive

This heart will heal and at long last shall thrive

It’s a fragile thing, this heart of mine

…But I give it to you

JBE

9/21/2017

Janet Enright

Literacy Specialist

Spry Middle School

For more information about this project, please visit my other posts as well the WHEC-TV 10 news story here.

And feel free to leave a comment for Janet or me!

The next post about my personal project, We All Have a Story, features retired teacher Jim Guderian

It was a delight to sit-down with Jim and talk about his life from growing up in Buffalo, playing hockey, skiing and singing in the choir to his involvement as an educator that spanned 38 years.  No doubt there are plenty of Webster residents familiar with his face as a teacher at Dewitt Road, Klem Road South and finally at Schlegel Road Elementary where he finished up his teaching career.  Not one to enjoy retirement, he worked for Kittelberger Florist and moved on to the Webster Central School District Buildings and Grounds crew.  His love of music and singing never waned and he's often found rehearsing at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Webster singing in the choir. 

In his words: 

Music has always been an important tenet in my life. I've been singing my whole life long, mostly in grade school, high school, and college choruses. I took voice lessons for awhile when my voice matured and did a bit of solo work, including weddings and even a few funerals (ugh!). I also had the pleasure to sing in a couple of opera choruses while at Buffalo State that solidified my interest in classical music.

After arriving in Webster in the early '60s, I joined the Rochester Oratorio Society and more recently, the Finger Lakes Festival Chorus.  I’ve also been most of the tenor section for Immanuel Lutheran Church (with another woman who sings tenor) for several years now. I wake up in the morning and there is a tune in my head.  I hear something and it plays again and again. On my hikes, a simple musical phrase repeats itself over and over and over. I thought EVERYBODY "heard" these tunes, so I began asking around. They don't!  Am I unique? I don't think so. Does it embarrass me? Not a bit! In fact, I embrace it, as I’m in my ‘80s and still making music, something I never would have believed! Aren't I lucky?

Jim Guderian

Retired Teacher

Buildings and Grounds

I want to thank Jim and the Immanuel Lutheran Church choir in Webster for allowing me to photograph during their rehearsal last winter.  If you'd like more information about this project click here and feel free to view additional stories through other blog posts. 

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Thanks for visiting!