Mr. Montgomery

We learned today that one of the teachers at my daughter's tae kwon do school is leaving.  His name is Mr. Montgomery, and he is moving to North Carolina to live with one of his daughters.  This daughter is a single parent, and she has a twelve-year-old son.  Mr. Montgomery feels that his grandson should have a reliable male role model in his life, so Mr. M is moving in with them to help out.

I don't know Mr. M very well, but he's the kind of person who exudes warmth and sincerity before you've even spoken to him.  I had the opportunity to speak with him at some length this past summer, at a picnic, and he is a fascinating individual. 

Mr. M is African-American, and is probably around my father's age, which is 69.  He was born and raised in Mississippi - I think it's safe to assume that he witnessed and experienced some rather unsavory things, given that he was probably a teenager when the Civil Rights Movement was really gaining steam.  But he didn't mention that; he spoke rather positively of all the things he's done in his life.  When he graduated high school, I believe he went to college in California and became an engineer.  Then he joined the Air Force with the intention of becoming a pilot.  After going through boot camp, training, education, and being stationed in Minot, North Dakota (he explained "Why not Minot?"), it was found that his eyesight was too poor for him to be a pilot.  All that time and energy gone to waste.  But Mr. M just laughed it off and shook his head.

So he lived in California for a long time, and then about twenty some-odd years ago, he came to this area, SE Pennsylvania.  He began taking classes at Kwak's Tae Kwon Do 22 years ago, and now his is a black belt and one of the regular teachers there. 

Mr. M is one of the kindest, gentlest people I have ever met.  He smiles and laughs and greets you with his deep voice, and he treats everyone with the utmost respect.  He is such a good teacher: patient, consistent, and he requires his students to meet high standards without being a taskmaster.  Simply put, Mr. Montgomery is a good person.

We are very sad to see him go, but I am not at all surprised by his reason for leaving.  Although I barely know him, I do know that he loves his children and grandchildren very, very much, and he wants to make sure that his grandson will have every opportunity to be successful in life.  I'm getting a little choked up just writing this.

If we could all take care of each other half as well as Mr. Montgomery takes care of his family, the world would be a really beautiful place.  Mr. Montgomery is a true, kind, warm, nurturing spirit.  I know I'll see him again - he'll visit.  And the other teachers at the dojang are very good at what they do.  But they are not Mr. Montgomery.

Mr. Montgomery is a selfless, kind man, and I hope that he is loved as much as he loves.