“He never mentioned it” by Patti Loughridge
1979 MESDA Summer Institute Class
I was in the MESDA class of 1979 (the early years!). We learned that every time Frank was wearing a bandanna around his head to not bother him.
It came time for our presentations and I had worked feverishly on mine. However the night before my presentation, to counter my nervousness, John Poston and Margaret Beck and Christy invited me to share a beer under the big spreading elm tree on the Salem College Campus. Needless to say after a couple of beers I didn’t review my slides as I should have.
The next morning I was the first presenter up, Frank came in to listen wearing a bandanna on his head. I was terrified but jumped in to my presentation only to discover that all of my slides were in upside down. Needless to say he immediately left!
I wrote him a letter of apology about my unpreparedness but he never mentioned it… The story always makes me smile, and I learned a lot of lessons on that day!
Patti Loughridge, Virginia
MESDA Summer Institute
Class of 1979
