Rough Draft Profile Article

Talking with Totten

Its 3:00 pm on a cool Monday afternoon, the wind is a gentle breeze and the campus bells are ringing through the air. I have just stepped out of my Lit Studies class with excitement written on my face. I have just spent all class thinking about the story of how Brother John Totten’s sister -in-law is the daughter of General George Patten. The trees sway in the November air and smell of roses tango with the wind. I reach the steps of The Marianist Residence house, ring the bell and wait. Soon enough a small man with white hair caring a cane walks up to open the door, he gives me a little laugh and says “Hi there Chrys!” With a smile on my face I say “Hi Brother Totten.

It is from this moment on where my imagination runs wild as I sit and listen to the stories that brother Totten shares with me. I picture him as a child living in German with his family and the images that flash threw my mind are that of a faded gray with a splash of color much like the ones you see when you watch a old film from the 1950’s, but brother Totten’s life start before that, his story is one that is filled with history and amazement. Although when you talk to him he would never tell you if you didn’t ask. It was only when I asked about his family did I hear the story of how his older brother’s wife was the daughter of General George Patton! When I heard this when my mouth dropped open with astonishment. I could not believe that he was spending family holidays with the man that helped America win the Second World War. It was with this “simple” fact did I realize that he was more than I thought. He was more than a brother he was a piece of history I was honored to know.

On this plain November day I sat down to ask brother Totten about his life, and how he came to be a brother here at St.Mary’s, even though I knew a few fragments of his story I wanted to be able to hear it in full, and like always brother Totten was prepared. There he sat next to me at the old oak table with a faded manila folder, my name had been written in to the tab and when he opened it there it was. There laid a sheet of paper that had turned brown from the years and written on it was a timeline of everything that brother Totten had found important in his life. I was amazed to see that it went over four pages long, all written in pencil, I guess it was written that way just in case if he wanted to be able to take away what he thought would not interest me.

I find myself talking about brother Totten to my family and my friends. I feel like it is important for everyone to know that in The Marianist Residence house there are hidden treasures disguised as whom people may see as simple old men, but within each of them stories of wonder and adventure hide.

Brother Totten was 21 when he decided to be a brother, although it went against his parent’s whishes. He was a student at St.Mary’s in 1930’s and it was during one day in French class did he realize he wanted to be a brother. “ I was going to St.Mary’s University when I realized I would like to be a brother. Father Rabe was my French teacher and also the president at that time. One day after class I went and talked to him about being a brother, and he explained to me what I had to do, but first I had to convince my parents.” Says brother Totten as he sits across from me, he starts to laugh and then go into the story of how his family tired to get him to change his mind. “My parents wanted me to go to WestPoint, just like my older brother, they drove from San Antonio to New York one afternoon, and there they were hoping that I would see WestPoint and be convinced that it was where I was supposed to be. It didn’t help them with their cause. I have made up my mind already but they still tried. Later on that weekend my father drove me down to the gulf and back to San Antonio and on the way back we stopped all the Jesuit colleges, (you see because that was the only religion that my parents knew about really well) but I still didn’t change my mind.” Brother Totten went on about how his father tired his best to talk him out of it all throughout their car ride back to St.Mary’s University but nothing changed his mind. I sat there with shock written on my face, because I would have never thought of brother Totten as a rebel child. I give out a little laugh and asked him “so was father Rabe the only one that helped you through this time in your life or was there someone else?” brother Totten looks down at his time line and says “Fr Rabe took me to go see Bishops Druasser, who was the Bishop at that time in San Antonio and he gave me his blessing, and then in the next few days they set me to St. Luis and there I was met by two brothers, one who was named brother Pete Hill” it is at this moment when brother Totten lets out a loud laugh and tells me that brother Hill told him that he was not going see much of St. Luis and because of this he was going to take brother Totten to the St. Luis zoo!

The stories that brother Totten has told me, are not the kind of stories I was expecting to hear the first day I had walked into the doors of The Marianist Residence house. They are filled with more life, adventure and laughter then I had thought, but each one of them had taught both brother Totten and I a lesson about life. A lesson of how life throws you curve balls and sometimes it a swing and a miss, but there are those times when one can hit it over the fence.

Soon after the trip to the zoo and the quick tour of St. Luis, brother Totten went through the motions and on the 22 of January in1933 when he made his promises to the Marianist order and one long year later on that exact day he made his first vows as a brother. It was 1934 and the start of his new life.