...I was a whiz at science and the fastest kid in school with a shelf brimming over with athletic trophies.
Revisionism is a wonderful thing.
My life reflects a gentler reality. My best subjects have always been English, History and Geography...and my athletic exploits would fill a single paper napkin.
History - that stuff earmarked by dusty archives and impassive monuments - has much the same quality about it. Arguably - it is generally written by the victor, but there are certain elements that simply cannot be altered - however much one might desperately wish otherwise.
I was reminded of that a few days ago when I wrote about the moving of Henry's bust. And lets keep our minds from wandering at this point - thank you.
It was a conversation reported in an email and in third-person, the kind of hearsay that invariably underwhelms me. What did catch my amused eye was the statement about Lawrence School being founded by Mahatma Gandhi for the benefit of soldiers' children - one of whom happened to be...young Henry Lawrence. Hmmmm, now there's an image I can't forget in a hurry. Henry in shorts and with knobbly knees.
Revisionism is a wonderful thing. Especially when it involves a shuffling of dates, the lives of two great men, and potential reincarnation. ;-)
For the record, Mahatma Gandhi was born in 1869...12 years after Henry Lawrence was killed at the Residency in Lucknow, during the Sepoy Mutiny. Gandhi returned to India from South Africa in 1915, with, I'd like to think, more pressing issues on his immediate agenda than the founding of a school for soldier's kids on his return. Issues like the liberation of a nation.
Then again, if we went with the founding of the school by Gandhi angle, and gave him a few years to settle down in India first - we may be looking at the founding of Lovedale in (arbitrary date) 1920. Mathematically speaking, we'd hardly be celebrating our 150th anniversary this year if that were the case. And if the school were founded in 1920, Henry would either a) have to be born again (literally) or b) figure in our record books as the oldest fourth grader ever - at over 100. I like option A. It has a mystical feel about it. Math at 2000 hours makes my head hurt. As does revisionism. It's a wonderfully slippery slope - once we start to rewrite history, where do we stop?
I'm not sure of the reasons why Henry was moved to Prep School and under a tree; I do think speculation is a pointless exercise - using energy that could so easily be directed elsewhere. His bust in front of Senior School has, as I have said before, been something of an iconic image...let's bring it back - why don't we?
Besides, we'd then avoid pictures like this one...
If there were a thought bubble hovering above his head, it might say:
Suddenly, I feel like a shower...
I'd add the bubble myself, but y'know, that would interfere with the visual of the bird poop...
GREAT STUFF!!
i love the way you have written this, its soo realistic and personal!
im an OL, and i agree with you that the statue of Henry Lawrence should be moved back to the senior school lawns, where it belongs!
no offense, but who does this new headmaster think he is?
he has made soo many changes to the school this year, and some postive, but others negative.
whatever it may be, the fact is that in Lawrence School, Lovedale, everything has a history and a tradition that have lasted for 150 years!
so, why is he changing everything now?!
Posted by: H | May 16, 2008 at 01:03 PM
Thanks, H! :)
It's an interesting thought about change.
Change is natural and must happen for any school to remain a dynamic force. It's a fine balance, isn't it, between that truth and a school's heritage; I'm not sure whether rewrting history was part of a master plan! ;-) I don't know enough about the reasoning behind the move. What are some of the other changes you've noticed?
Hopefully, Henry will make his way back home soon...
Posted by: piper | May 25, 2008 at 11:18 PM