Feeling Nostalgic

I was browsing around the usual sites I frequent, but couldn't find anything that really struck my interest. Maybe I'm extra picky for some reason tonight or maybe I'm just in a stupor from another one of MTV's day-long marathons of America's Next Top Model. Nevertheless, I kept searching and decided to expand my horizons both a little further and a little closer to home. Never could I have guessed how very close to home I would find myself.

While exploring the website of my local newspaper, The Burlington County Times, I came across a story about Joseph Lemme, a former principal of Holy Cross High School, who was recently sentenced to five years in prison for a $415,848 embezzlement from the school. Lemme, according to the article, is being defended by his lawyer as having stolen from the school as a means of vengeance for alleged sexual crimes committed against him at a seminary he attended as a teenager.

You may be wondering why such a story would hit so close to home. Well, Joseph Lemme was principal for exactly four years at Holy Cross, which happened to be the four years in which I received my education there. My freshman year and his first year at the school was marked by the scandalous revelation of the civil suit he had filed against the Catholic Church for the sexual abuse he claimed had occurred when he was younger. I remember my fellow students being both very mature and very immature about the situation, but little did anyone know that that particular scandal would be a precursor to and determinant of an even larger one.

After reading the story and letting it sink in a little, I find myself feeling nostalgic. Not only could I hear Lemme's voice as I read his quotes, but I recognized the names of parents who had been interviewed for the article. When it speaks of the family who was hurt by this crime, I can visualize the little girl he had brought to an assembly one day who had hid shyly behind him. It is not often that I can identify so closely to an article, to be able to absorb so much out of it because I already know the story. You'd think that because I am much more familiar with the situation than most that I would be able to make a better and more informed judgment, but I find that I cannot. During high school my feelings toward our principal were rather indifferent, yet this article puts a new spin on his life that I hadn't ever considered. I'm still upset that he stole from the school community, but I now see more than greed behind it.

Ultimately, I'm glad that I went back to my roots to look for something of interest because I managed to gain a new point of view that I wouldn't have otherwise.