Friends

We never knew they were called benefactors.

The good Sisters who taught us always referred them to as “friends,” and of course, that they were.

There were many other things we weren’t aware of in those long gone years, especially that we all lived on the wrong side of Central Park.

That was a brutal reality I only learned years later when I was still vulnerable enough to be shocked by rejection,

Until then, however, not only I, but my classmates, were oblivious to the reality about a right and wrong side of the tracks, and also, that the gifts from our Friends were acts of kindness and charity, not mere friendship,

The countless hours Madam Charisse spent teaching ballet to 20 sixth grade girls introduced me to a lifelong love of Capezios, and the magic of Swan Lake. However, despite her expertise I doubt if the good Madam truly believed any of her young proteges would ever grace a stage. Although, I admit I cannot be certain about that.

Also I never comprehended how generous Madam Charisse was by gifting her valuable and highly lucrative time. Instead we just assumed the petite dynamo wearing a turban enjoyed spending her afternoons with twenty little girls in the dingy auditorium on Ninth Avenue and 61st Street teaching then to pirouette.

When the beautiful festive boxes of candy were distributed annually on the last day of school before Christmas recess, I assumed every other student in NYC had also received this delicious treat.

It was many years later when I learned the identity of the famed TV personality and benefactor who never failed to remember the youngsters in a Parish school comfortably tucked into Hells Kitchen,

Nor did I have a clue that every ten year old did not receive her own sewing machine and learn to sew before the end of the school year.

Sadly, despite the largesse of the always unnamed “friend,” I was probably the only failure in, that charitable endeavor.

However, Joan, my best friend, went on to make her daughter’s wedding gown and gain fame with her own elegant wardrobe so the generous donation was certainly successful.

Nor on a cold winter’s morning several years later at a weekday Mass, did any of the small congregation realize another gift when a recognizable voice sang out from behind the altar giving praise with the beauty of Ave Maria.

The surprised congregation were unaware the famed vocalist had performed until the early morning hours at the famed Waldorf Astoria. Rather then resting his magnificent voice, he chose to share his gift with others in praise of His maker,

And so it goes, as life trembles slowly and we take tentative steps forward, the hands of unknown strangers always appear helping us move steadily ahead on our path

And possibly the term friends was always more appropriate than benefactor and still might be,