A few of Andy's Reflections about Sue Rock

Sue Rock was Mrs. Rock to me (I had too much respect for her to ever call her Sue). She'd been a family friend for years, when suddenly she became my microbiology teacher. (Yikes!) But we worked well together, and she was a wonderful teacher. She was a great teacher -- she didn't teach like the others. She was rigorous, and careful, and thoughtful, and all of the good things that I like and appreciate in a teacher. (Another like her was John Quinn, who also ranks up there -- who instructed me in "comparative government").
Mrs. Rock and I did some research together on slime molds, and really enjoyed that project. Unfortunately I took my project to a science fair, and, not really understanding how such things work, didn't do at all well during the judging. The judge gave me a horrifically low score -- like 4 out of 20, or the like. He didn't know how to get me to open up about slime molds, about which I knew a lot (at the time!).
I know that my teacher was horrified, too, to see the score, and she knew that I was devastated. She always felt bad about that experience: like she'd set me up or something. Yeah, I didn't know what I was doing, and maybe I could have been better informed about how it would all transpire. But my teacher may not have known that I wouldn't be ready to "go with the flow" when the moment required it. Maybe she had more confidence in me than I deserved.
At any rate, she and I both knew that I really knew my slime molds, and should have gotten a good grade!:).
As it is, I have often judged science fairs since, because I know what it's like to be on the other end -- and I am a good and kind and encouraging judge because of this unfortunate experience.
Sue Rock was an impressive force. She was clearly intelligent, and needed to be to tangle with such an intelligent husband, and kids; but she was up to the task. Bill could get into it with her ("Now Suzie,...."), but she would not back down -- nothing ugly, or vicious -- just two intelligent people having a real discussion, trying to figure out the correct answer. I loved watching them interact.
We got to see them yearly while growing up, for the candy-making. Mom and Sue had taken a candy-making course with Emily Guion, and then it became an annual family affair. Together Mom and Sue would order their chocolate, and then everyone would pitch in to make the caramels, creams, peanut clusters, toffees, buckeyes, etc. that we all loved.
Dad and Bill were responsible for storing and hauling around the marble slabs on which the candies cooled.
There were several memorable moments over the years:
1. When a knife tip got lost in the caramels -- yikes! I think that we should have taken a powerful magnet to them, but they may have been thrown out -- sad!
2. When Cliff and/or Sammy, small children, pushed a finger into each of the creams while the adults were otherwise occupied.
3. Rocks's dog Chip ate a bunch of chocolate one year, which caused him more grief than it did us, probably. Maybe.... Brian just informed me at Sue's memorial that Chip made a mess of the carpet, which had to be replaced (and that the color they chose was not brown!:).
When we all were quite young -- elementary age -- we took a camping trip down to Hocking Hills. Dad had made a toilet seat so that we could do our business behind a curtain, in private.
There was a small creek to play in, fish in, and we had a blast with out in the woods with the Rock children. We always had a blast with the Rocks.
Good friends....

Website maintained by Andy Long. Comments appreciated.