It is with a heavy heart that the National English Honor Society announces the passing of beloved teacher, Chapter Advisor, and Advisory Council Member, David Hebestreit.
Dave was a kind and generous friend, a gifted educator (able to encourage even the most reluctant student to produce high-quality critical and creative writing, which is no mean feat), a talented soccer player and coach, a keen sailor, and a fervent supporter of NEHS.
The NEHS Advisory Council is greatly saddened by Dave’s passing and will ensure that his legacy lives on among our NEHS community.
Earlier this year, Dave traveled with his friend Mike (who he was with when he passed) to Iceland. Dave shared a piece of text he wrote while on that trip with us when he returned. We have chosen to publish that piece here as we believe it captures the essence of Dave and gives us a look into the mark he has left on the NEHS community and the wider world.
The Riddle(s) of Life
by David Hebestreit
I recently had the chance to travel to Iceland over spring break with my buddy Mike Berschback. During the week-long trip, we hiked almost 100,000 steps, seeing countless, beautiful waterfalls, black sand beaches, and expansive, seemingly untouched landscapes. We snorkeled between the tectonic plates that separate Europe and North America, and, while the myth is that you can touch both plates at the same time, my arms are not hundreds of meters long. We stayed in an oceanside cabin the first two nights, complete with a hot tub to soak in each night (thankfully), and our own personal waterfall just behind the cabin. We reveled in seeing the northern lights above us, rather than out in front, as I have so many times in Northern Michigan. We were privy to just about every kind of weather one could have inside of a day, from blizzard snow conditions to sun-soaked beaches.
Because Iceland has only one real city, Reykjavik, everywhere else in the country seems remote, is remote. The landscape offers unequaled beauty at every turn. During those first two nights there was not a restaurant nearby, so we grocery’d up and cooked all of our own food. It was marvelous, inexpensive, super tasty, and convenient (it pays to travel with a trained chef!).
One day, while hiking up behind the cabin, I found a small house that was on the other side of the crick that ran from the waterfall. As I moved closer, I realized, it was no house, but rather a generator/pump house, which took the water that flowed from the falls and used it to create energy that is harnessed by the cabins and hotel on property. In Iceland, most of the homes and businesses are heated via geothermal energy, which is abundant and free, unlike anywhere else in the world. About 70% of Iceland’s energy is clean energy, coming from geothermal sources. The country has some 600 natural hot springs and 200 volcanoes that help create the abundance.
On the door to the generator house up behind the cabin was written the following adage: “The old generator house, where the riddle of life is solved.” As I hiked, I thought about riddles, and it dawned on me (again) how often other places in the world, places other than the US, have so many things “right” and do not create further riddles. Whether it be free health care and education, or taking care of their elderly and homeless, so many places around the world go about solving the social ills quietly, and effectively. I began to think about how we create problems for ourselves in our daily lives, problems that can become twisted riddles, unsolvable because of what they are borne of, as well as the energy we give them when we cannot find a quick solution.
As I continued to walk and think about the generator house’s simple, but important process, I thought about the simplicity that exists when we let the world do what the world needs to do, when we use the natural world responsibly, leaving it better than it was before. I am not going any deeper with this analogy than I have, for we all know that our current lifestyle, this opposition to the natural world, is not sustainable. Instead, I will say that I am looking for ways to solve the simple riddles that show up in my days by thinking about taking care of the natural world, of not living in opposition to it because, when I do, I create more complex riddles for not only myself, but others.
In our current world, it is difficult to live differently, as so few of us have honed any tools to step outside of the machine that is society. But we can look to make small strides to change the harm that we do cause. And, hopefully, one day, like a snowball rolling down a hill, we will gain some momentum.
I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to travel throughout my entire life. I have seen 48 countries since I first left home as a 17-year-old. I plan to continue to travel and learn from and see the world, very soon, I hope, with horizons that are indeterminable from the lakes, seas, and oceans I float upon in my sailboat.
More from NEHSXpress: December 10, 2024
Attend Convention with Your Chapter
Winter Scholarships Opportunity
Monologue Performance Challenge
Share Your Chapter’s Community Work
Professional Development Opportunities and Awards for Chapter Advisors
Holiday Closure
