Some Things You MIght Not Know About Stephen

October 20, 1965 was a hallmark day in Savannah, Georgia. That's the day Stephen Remler became a resident. Now, forty-seven years later, Stephen still resides in Savannah, Georgia, although his adventures of have taken him all over the place. Some of my readers know Stephen as a builder; others know him as Davis and Lawson's dad or Nancy's husband. Some know him as a former classmate, a golf partner, a fishing buddy, a brother, son, or in-law. But Stephen's touched hundreds of lives in his (almost) half century. I can tell just as many stories about what makes him special to me. But here are just a few:

Starting School: Stephen was not enthusiastic about starting school. His mother tells me that when she delivered him to St. James School that fateful August day, he refused to go in and even clung to the breezeway pole to avoid that dreadful, awful, horrifying experience known as first grade. I don't know how JoJo eventually got him in the building, but somehow she did, because at some point, he sat for this photo.

Jesus Shoes:  Then the fifth grade, as most of the Savannah Catholic school alums will remember, is the year students perform the Stations of the Cross.  Stephen got to play Jesus. Most kids would consider that role an honor. I think for a while Stephen did too, that is, until he had a conflict with his teacher, whose name (I believe) was Sister Mary of the Angels. Apparently neither was much of an angel that day. The class did their first performance during the school day for the rest of the student body. During that production, Stephen committed the apparently (at least to Sister) mortal sin of smiling while he was being crucified. Afterward, Stephen's teacher reprimanded him for his smile and said, "Tommy Johnson can play a better Jesus than you can!"

Stephen replied, "Fine. Then let him do it!"

When he got home, he reported that he would not be playing Jesus in that evening's performance for the parents. JoJo was so disappointed and tried to talk him into it. She'd so wanted to see Stephen in his starring role. Besides, she'd worked so hard making his costume and buying his Jesus shoes. But Stephen dug in his Jesus heels. JoJo put him in the car and drove him to the school, but he still refused to play Jesus. So Sister Mary of the Angels threatened him. "If you don't play Jesus," she warned, "I'm going to fail you for the whole year."

Again, Stephen said, "Fine. Go ahead." He knew she couldn't really do that. Evidently, JoJo realized what an ass Sister was making of herself, so instead of watching the performance, she took Stephen out for ice cream.

High School:  Obviously, Stephen passed fifth grade (and sixth, seventh, and eighth) because he attended Benedictine Military School, where he was on the yearbook staff and was a lieutenant colonel in ROTC. His senior year, he escorted Teresa Ryan at the homecoming game because her boyfriend, Steve Werntz, was playing in the game. Thirty years later, Teresa's daughter Megan was Davis's escort at the BC homecoming. BC's always been a school steeped in tradition, but I think that example is a really good one. Also during Stephen's senior year, it poured down rain on St. Patrick's Day, and Stephen and the rest of the cadets had to march soaking wet in the parade.
After that, he was ready to graduate and start college.

An Athens Party Animal: In college, Stephen threw some bodacious parties. Some of them took place at his parents' beach house on Tybee; others took place in Myers Hall at the University of Georgia. Wherever they were, everyone involved had a blast. Stephen's most famous parties were actually continuations of parties his brother Brett started. For the Wankle Beach parties, Stephen and Brett would load the back of their El Camino with sand from Tybee Island, and they'd haul it to Athens and cover the common room floor with it, making their own beach. They invited all their friends and their friends' friends, and we'd party till the cows came home, or at least until the Residence Life staff told us to call it a night. Oyster roasts, beach weekends, football tailgates--Stephen could always throw a fun soiree.

A Special Talent: Stephen's the only person I've ever known who could ride a unicycle. He tried to teach me, but I just couldn't figure it out.

Wedding Bell:  The youngest of five siblings, Stephen was the last in his family to marry. Along the way, as his brothers and sisters wed, Stephen carefully planned a fun prank for each of them. How thoughtful! For instance, when his sister Laurie married, Stephen had her car placed on top of blocks of ice so she and her husband couldn't leave their reception until the ice melted. When Kelley married, Stephen broke into her house and toilet papered the whole thing. To his credit, he also left her a new TV with a big white bow on it. When our big day came along, Stephen expected his brothers and sisters to have some tom foolery up their sleeves (or at the very least, some hijinks). They did. His siblings tried in every way to get me to reveal where we were staying that night, but Stephen had already warned me, and I kept my mouth shut. Still, they got their revenge on their brother. They filled our luggage with bird seed. Then they padlocked a chain around Stephen's neck, and attached to that chain was a cow bell. But Stephen was prepared. He packed bolt cutters in his suit case (that was back in the day that you could take bolt cutters to an airport) and cut that chain off his neck before we went on our honeymoon. He only scratched his neck two or three times. Ten years later, I still found birdseed in my suitcase. And Stephen still has his cowbell.

A Little Stephen and One Extra:  In 1994, we had our first child, Davis, who looks like a little Stephen. Even today, people tell Davis how much he looks like his daddy. Five years later, Lawson came along, and Stephen had two little companions to take along to the beach, on the boat, and in the woods. Stephen, Davis, and Lawson like to go hunting and camping together, and I hope they enjoy those activities for another forty-seven years.

Happy birthday to Stephen Remler! May have have many, many more!