‘Kat’ will be remembered by many
By Ed Wells
RRSTAR.COM
Posted Jan 12, 2009 @ 12:13 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kathryn Ann Norman died the last day of December at the age of 44. She lost her battle with ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease, and she left us much, much too soon. Kathy, or “Kat,” was a fine lady who brought happiness to anyone around her. There is much to remember about such a full life, but my best memories of Kat are from when we created the Masai Experience in the early 1990s.
The Masai Experience was an experimental summer program for at-risk boys ages 12, 13, and 14. The program started at Lockwood Park in the stone house on the hill. The kids worked farm chores, fed the animals, and did general pickup at the farm. Their day was very structured — farm work in the morning until finished, then class work with tutors and teachers, then free play. We offered fun, structure and order to kids’ lives that had already seen too much drugs, guns, death and despair.
The kids thrived under the care and direction of Kathy. To put it simply, they loved her. She was like a caring mother and a demanding sister to the boys. I knew at the time that if the boys were to learn about their purpose in life, they would have to re-examine their view of women. Most of the boys in the program loved their mothers, but their views about women were one-sided and harmful to having future fulfilling relationships with females.
Kathy solved that problem quickly. She was strong, fair, fun and interesting. She was full of love but not afraid to chastise the kids when they were wrong. With Kat and me, the boys saw a male-female relationship built on trust, respect and affection. They saw a relationship built on strict division of responsibility. There were things expected of me, and there were things expected of her. And most importantly there were expectations on the kids.
The Masai Experience seemed to me like the Waltons — with work, food, fun and space, wonderful space, where a young boy could run, jump, play and feel safe. The Masai Experience was a great time in my life, and that joy was largely because of Kat and how she lived, worked and played. When it came to the kids, Kathy and I were soul mates.
I only wish that the local agencies such as the Park District, law enforcement and educators had seen fit to continue and even expand the Masai program.
We saw the need and the data was there. We had the model. All we needed was the commitment of the involved agencies and the money. Yes, money was important to help these kids and also present- day kids. So many have nothing, and having nothing was and is complicated by lack of education and by violence and family disruption.
The Masai program was clean. We didn’t beg. We worked for donations for the program. Kathy was phenomenal at getting free stuff for the boys. But their needs were great, and it put a lot of financial stress on us. The Masai program worked in large part because of Kathy’s hard work, her joy in the kids and her unconditional love. She was the juice that kept the program going and helped me deal with the problems the kids had.
When I think of Kathryn Ann Norman, I think of the Masai and the people, parents, cousins, friends, sibling and neighbors who benefited from the program and her participation in it. She was my soul mate through the most trying and exciting times of my life.
Rest in peace, Kat. You will be missed, but you will be remembered for a long time by me and by the kids as a great, great lady, the Queen of the Masai.
Ed Wells of Rockford writes a weekly column for the Rockford Register Star. If you would like to comment, e-mail
opinions@rrstar.com.
http://www.rrstar.com/opinions/colum...mbered-by-many