FRANK Has Left The Building

My jaw dropped. I looked up to where he always sat, stoic, strong, and ready to listen. Frank’s constant presence was a reminder of our need to take a deep breath and remain silent. Frank never spoke, but he said a lot. I remember once speaking to one of the administrators and we were trying to make a decision. Turning to Frank was the logical course of action, he was always frank and spoke frankly on every topic, if you were ready to listen. So what happened to Frank? Someone new and someone old, and an institution of SJM was gone.

If you don’t know who Frank is, join the club. What I refer to as frank is an old wooden foot rest with the name Frank carved in the top. The foot rest was found underneath a pew and placed on top of the administrwtor’s desk. Frank was friendly, real, accountable, near, and knowledgeable. Not everyone appreciated his ever present gaze, they would ask why he was there? When explained, they politely acknowledged his keen insight and went on to another topic. So, when a new administrator came on staff, someone who did not truly know Frank, her gift of cleaning out paced Frank’s usefulness. Frank was removed from his place of prominence and came to rest in a corner of the workroom. From there, our faithful maintenance personnel, saw Frank’s presence coming to an end, and out into the dumpster he went. No fanfare, no solemn moment, just a heave and a hoe.

So what can be learned from Frank? 1. Silence is energizing. 2. Stopping and taking a deep breath is always good before speaking. 3. Words are over rated, when reflection is what is needed. 4. Faithfulness means being ignored st times. And finally, 5. “Don’t ask for whom the dumpster calls, it calls for you.” Frank you will be missed.

But hey, look, there’s BoB!