Macon Ray

My sister Tracy is three years older than I am. I remember when she got to high school she would come home talking about her art teacher, how he was such a great teacher and how much she enjoyed his class. My art teacher at the time was Linda Ray, and I really liked her. Three years later I joined my sister in high school and I took art classes with the same teacher she had. His name was Macon Ray and I came to care about him just as much as my sister did. We both wound up taking four years of his classes and I can honestly say that I loved each day of those classes.
If you haven't guessed, Macon and Linda were husband and wife. Both teachers and both wonderful people. I recall many stories that Macon would tell and many times we just sat and talked. He was a great role model for a young man. He was honest and sincere, honorable, and friendly. I was lucky enough to have been able to call him a friend even after I graduated. I would sometimes go to the school and visit him and he was always happy to see me.
One day in class we were talking about the different ways people spell Jeff. I mentioned that some people spell it Geoffrey and he said something about that being pronounced "Goofrey". From that day on I was "Goofrey", never Jeff.
Macon passed away last week at the age of 81. Cancer took him much too soon. I went to his memorial service yesterday. The church was packed with friends and family and many people told stories of how they had met Macon, or what an impact he had on their lives. It was touching to see that many people there to wish him well. I know that when I go there will not be a crowd nearly as big to see me off.
Macon was famous for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. Many people mentioned this at his service. I didn't know him as an actor, I knew him as Macon, a friend. I knew him as Mr. Ray, a teacher. I knew him as a person that loved a good story or a good joke. He wasn't afraid to make people laugh either with or at him.
Many people at the service told of good times with Macon and Linda. I don't have any stories like that. I would see him in Corydon at Butt Drugs or Jock's Lunch (when it was still around) and we would talk for a few minutes. We may not have spent a lot of time together, but he made a huge impact in my life.
I wish you the best Macon.

Farewell Bill

There is a family that I have known for many years in Corydon, the Millers. The family is made up of four brothers, Mike, Phil, Bill and Dave Miller. Dave is the closest to my age and he is the one I have always known best. Bill was four years older than me, not a huge difference in age today, but when I was in High School the gap was huge.

Bill started having some chest pains recently, with pain radiating down his arm and difficulty breathing at times. Being a mere 50 years old he told himself it was nothing to worry about. This is the same thing I thought when I started having chest pain 8 years ago, I'm too young for something like heart trouble.

Bill lived alone, and when his mother Diane couldn't reach him by telephone a couple of weeks ago she got worried and called the police near his home. They found him, too late. My sister tells me that he was clutching his chest and appeared to be trying to crawl to the telephone. It's too bad he didn't make it those few feet, he might still be with us.

According to the statistics on heart attacks, one in every five deaths in the United States is due to heart attack. 38 percent of all heart attacks result in death. There are over 8 million heart attacks every year in the United States, and over 9 million cases of Angina (chest pain).

Actually, the statistics are a little hard to understand. In one place I have read that the death rate is 38 percent and in other places I read 57 percent. It is difficult to know what the percentages really are, but even if it were just one person per year, and you knew that person, you would say the number was too high.

Bill will be missed. His brothers and his mother will miss him evey day. Friends will miss him and wish he were still with us. I hope that each family member and each friend remembers that he didn't need to die. I hope they use Bill's life and untimely passing as a lesson and that when they have a pain that could be cardiac related they go to see a doctor. Everyone should know the symptoms of heart attack by now. Chest pain, possibly radiating to your arm, possible pain in your upper back, pain in the sides of your neck. Any pain in your chest area that radiates in any direction should be checked out.

I am not saying that Bill did anything wrong. He did as many others do, he thought he would be alright. It's human nature. Even with the problems I have had I still had a hard time dialing 911 because I didn't want to look foolish if it was nothing but the tacos I had the night before.

Just make the call if you have chest pain, that is my message. I hope you will pass this message along, make sure the people you care about, family, friends, aquaintances and anyone else knows that it is alright to talk to a doctor if you are having any pain. Don't be afraid, you may save your own life or the life of someone else.

William L. Miller - Born 2/2/1958 - Died 5/30/2008. Rest in peace Bill.