Jim Striby, who passed away at the end of 2001, was my friend. He was my mentor, my Department Chairman and a man who changed my life.
Jim had such a profound affect on my life that it’s hard to imagine what I’d be doing and where I would be today, if it weren’t for his intervention.
First of all, he hired me for the teaching job at the Maryland Institute, taking me out of the public school system in 1970. He went out of his way to make sure I’d be included in the Union of Independent Colleges of Art discipline meetings, insisting to our school and the Director of UICA that I needed to be at all the National Art Education meetings we had when no other additional faculty were ever included in those meetings. It was because of his insistence that I attend, that I eventually got the job as Associate Director of UICA in Kansas City, changing my life, and the lives of my family, forever.
He was my traveling partner for many years. I remember telling my former wife, that Jim was much easier to travel with then she was, as I always knew where he would be putting his socks and his underwear, plus he always brought booze with him which improved the traveling situation.
We shared many unique experiences, and had so many adventures, that it boggles my mind to consider them. Most of these will not be aired in public, but one keeps coming back to me and I wanted to share this one. It was a memorable event.
We were in Washington D.C. for some kind of meeting. We both lived within an hour of the meeting, but we stayed at a hotel in D.C. because we could participate in the evening activities, dinner and things.
We made reservations at some “fancy” restaurant, recommended, I believe, by my former father-in-law who was great at these things and knew where to go.
We must have started drinking after the meeting in the bar with lots of friends at 4:00 p.m.and then went back to the room to change, and maybe have a few room drinks, and then on to the restaurant.
We were feeling no pain when we arrived at the restaurant, and Jim was clearly (in my mind) more gone than I was. We drove to the restaurant, as I remember, somehow parked in a multi story parking facility somewhere.
When the waiter came by we ordered drinks, of course, and continued to consume great amounts of gin. Then we focused on the menu.
For appetizers (the only part of the meal I remember as this was the 70’s) we ordered escargot.
Right before they arrived, the waiter put down what looked like a double sided mascara curler but is actually a pair of tongs, a snail holder. The snails arrived on a little metal tray with holes in to keep the snails in place and collect all that herbed butter. We were also presented with a long, thin snail fork.
Jim looked at the snail utensil, held it in his hand and held it up to the light wondering what to do next. I asked him if I could help him as he clearly needed help, and I explained how to use these things.
He put the snail in the tongs, picked up his fork and the snail disappeared!
We both were astonished! Where had it gone? A magical experience had happened to us both,
The air cleared and I noticed a streak of butter running across Jim’s sport coat in a line going from his tie to his shoulder.
A tuxedoed waiter then tapped Jim on the shoulder gently, handed him the snail shell held between his thumb and forefinger and asked, “Did you lose this sir?”.
Behind him I saw a bald, well dressed diner, sitting quietly with butter dripping down his head, staring at us!
Diner was wonderful, I think. Luckily, Jim had lost the car keys and we took a cab. Jim’s wife Maxine drove to D.C. the next day and brought keys so we could go home!
Jim had such a profound affect on my life that it’s hard to imagine what I’d be doing and where I would be today, if it weren’t for his intervention.
First of all, he hired me for the teaching job at the Maryland Institute, taking me out of the public school system in 1970. He went out of his way to make sure I’d be included in the Union of Independent Colleges of Art discipline meetings, insisting to our school and the Director of UICA that I needed to be at all the National Art Education meetings we had when no other additional faculty were ever included in those meetings. It was because of his insistence that I attend, that I eventually got the job as Associate Director of UICA in Kansas City, changing my life, and the lives of my family, forever.
He was my traveling partner for many years. I remember telling my former wife, that Jim was much easier to travel with then she was, as I always knew where he would be putting his socks and his underwear, plus he always brought booze with him which improved the traveling situation.
We shared many unique experiences, and had so many adventures, that it boggles my mind to consider them. Most of these will not be aired in public, but one keeps coming back to me and I wanted to share this one. It was a memorable event.
We were in Washington D.C. for some kind of meeting. We both lived within an hour of the meeting, but we stayed at a hotel in D.C. because we could participate in the evening activities, dinner and things.
We made reservations at some “fancy” restaurant, recommended, I believe, by my former father-in-law who was great at these things and knew where to go.
We must have started drinking after the meeting in the bar with lots of friends at 4:00 p.m.and then went back to the room to change, and maybe have a few room drinks, and then on to the restaurant.
We were feeling no pain when we arrived at the restaurant, and Jim was clearly (in my mind) more gone than I was. We drove to the restaurant, as I remember, somehow parked in a multi story parking facility somewhere.
When the waiter came by we ordered drinks, of course, and continued to consume great amounts of gin. Then we focused on the menu.
For appetizers (the only part of the meal I remember as this was the 70’s) we ordered escargot.
Right before they arrived, the waiter put down what looked like a double sided mascara curler but is actually a pair of tongs, a snail holder. The snails arrived on a little metal tray with holes in to keep the snails in place and collect all that herbed butter. We were also presented with a long, thin snail fork.
Jim looked at the snail utensil, held it in his hand and held it up to the light wondering what to do next. I asked him if I could help him as he clearly needed help, and I explained how to use these things.
He put the snail in the tongs, picked up his fork and the snail disappeared!
We both were astonished! Where had it gone? A magical experience had happened to us both,
The air cleared and I noticed a streak of butter running across Jim’s sport coat in a line going from his tie to his shoulder.
A tuxedoed waiter then tapped Jim on the shoulder gently, handed him the snail shell held between his thumb and forefinger and asked, “Did you lose this sir?”.
Behind him I saw a bald, well dressed diner, sitting quietly with butter dripping down his head, staring at us!
Diner was wonderful, I think. Luckily, Jim had lost the car keys and we took a cab. Jim’s wife Maxine drove to D.C. the next day and brought keys so we could go home!
I had the great pleasure of living next door to the Striby family in the late 1960s. Jim and Maxine were like second parents to me, and both their my family and theirs were very close, sometimes traveling together. It was always an adventure, I even lived with them for a time in high school when my dad was transferred to another state. Very sweet people, Maxine and and Jim was so dryly hilarious. And a wonderful artist. Their daughter was my junior bridesmaid in 1973. Safe to say they were a second family to me!
ReplyDelete