No More Octobers

Our first lady of Greenville College passed away last night. Like most students, I didn't have a lot of interaction with her personally-we all just knew her as the beautiful lady with great spiky hair that lived in the big white house at the end of campus. It was just this beauty that got me the closest to Ellen Mannoia-for Valentines Day the Papyrus did a section on The Fifteen Most Beautiful People of GC. I met with the President, told him my idea, and before I even got to express why I was there, he said, "And you want to feature Ellen, of course." Why yes, I did.
Being a student at GC for the last three years meant that Ellen updates had become a part of life. For a while she'd be doing good and would show up in chapel, or we'd hear about how they were doing on their sabatacle in Italy. She was always at graduation sitting in the exact same chair-I know because I observed her from the band for three years, including this year when she couldn't stand when she was recognized, so we stood for her. They announced that College Avenue-the building that I lived in this past year-was to be renamed after her. I've never been part of a longer or more meaningfull standing ovation in my entire life.
When we heard that Ellen had weeks left, two thoughts struck my mind: 1. I was a freshman at GC in chapel. She was speaking. She joked about how she and God had conversations every so often about her life-how she wanted to be there for her children's weddings and how her next conversation with God was going to be about grandchildren. 2. There would be no more Octobers for Ellen Mannoia.
Why had I thought this? Was it because the mere thought of having weeks to live was so impacting? Or was it because, as anyone who lives in Greenville knows, fall on campus and around town rivals any other beautiful place in the world. For a few short weeks, gold and orange and red hang in the air against the brick buildings and outside classroom windows and literally blankets campus. I looked forward to every morning I got up during fall this past year and walked from College Avenue to chapel. That is truly the best walk: trees lining the street, the GC sign, Hogue Hall in the background....and Joy house.
Ellen Mannoia was always subtlely a part of students' lives as she added to the beauty of Greenville College. I will remember her most in the fall this year, when the beauty outside contains a twinge of pain because it is so breathtaking.