Mr. Starkie & Mr. Vore

Q: How long have you been friends?

V: I worked at Joseph Beth bookstore before I went back to school to teach, and Mr. Starkie’s wife works there. We did not work directly together, but we knew of each other, and then a friend and colleague had a retirement party. We showed up for that, and lo and behold, there was Mr. Starkie.

S: My wife described Mr. Vore as a legendary book seller. And during the 2021-22 school year, we both had a student that we enjoyed immensely. I found out that she was in Mr. Vore’s class. And then it was like, this connection is yes.

V: I just remember walking down the hall after seventh bell and I saw her talking to Mr. Starkie. I said, “Mr. Starkie, you have the pleasure of having her as well.”

S: Then I started stopping by.

V: Yeah. And then he even did some of the assignments that I gave my juniors. And I’ve also seen Zach play. I would like to see him play more, but I love seeing him performing on stage.

Q: What is your favorite aspect of your friendship or each other?

V: I appreciate that when we talk, I’m going to be enlightened. I’m going to appreciate something new because of his perspective. I enjoy philosophical conversations, and college, for me, was one long, big, philosophical conversation. We would ask questions where there wasn’t necessarily a clear answer, but it was the asking that was exciting. I enjoyed that. And I have found that that happens far more rarely in life than I would like, but Zach is the person who will provide that. When I talk to him, I know we’re gonna stumble upon something interesting.

S: I enjoy talking to Mr. Vore about that stuff more than I enjoy talking to just anybody. To me, philosophy is sometimes this big, long game of devil’s advocacy, and that is my least favorite part of it. I find that to be exhausting. Why are we advocating for the devil, especially against ourselves or against our friends or our peers? But when we talk, I don’t feel that way. He might say, “But the other perspective,” but he’s not telling me that I’m wrong. I feel like we’ll have a discussion, and it’s not always “Yes, and…” but it’s way more constructive. It’s so much more enjoyable than, “Well, you forgot to consider…”

V: Which I also did not enjoy in the one philosophy class I took, where it just felt like people being contrarian for the sake of it. But Mr. Starkie, in one of his essays, was taking issue with the phrase, “Even a broken clock is right twice a day,” which I had said before. He wrote an essay and I was like, “Oh, I never considered that you took issue with the phrase,” so it was challenging to me, but not in a contrarian way. I don’t use that phrase anymore because of the essay he wrote. I appreciate that he challenged me in a friendly way to look at things differently, which I would like more of in my life. That’s something I appreciate about Zach’s temperament.

Q: How would you describe each other in three words?

S: I think that Ben is kind, equitable, and positive. I think that he’s a really kind person. When I see his interactions with students, there’s a certain warmth to it. I really appreciate how he greets everybody when they come in. He cares about their opinions when he’s here. And as far as the positivity, he’s like, “Okay, well, we’re gonna do this.” And I’ll come and talk to him about a tough situation, and he’s not telling me that I’m wrong, but the way that he talks to me about it is in a positive light, and that helps me to be like, “Okay, that’s right. That is right. I can do this better.” 

V: Okay, so one of those words overlaps because I wrote kind. I think Mr. Starkie’s a very kind teacher and human being. And I think that is an underrated, sometimes underappreciated asset today. And stylish. He’s the most stylish person I know. And I think Mr. Starkie is extremely funny, but I didn’t say funny. Dry. I thoroughly appreciate dry humor. And he has, I would dare say, really perfected the art of it. 

Q: What kind of interests do you both share or don’t share?

V: I do not have his fashion sense, which is why I like to be close to him and feel like by association, perhaps I do. Mr. Starkie has a greater love and appreciation for music, but we definitely share a love of the arts in general. Movies, film…

S: Mr. Vore reads way more than me, and I just haven’t read that much for a long time, which is sad for me. And I think Mr. Vore enjoys sports—he likes his son’s sports. I mean, that’s just not one of my interests, but I also think that’s not something that we talk about. There are other things. I enjoy a lot of crafting, art, printing, or printing shirts, and we just don’t talk about that. I mean I’ve shared my art with him. 

V: Yeah, he did. I appreciate those things. He’s more artistic than I am. I just don’t have the skill or the familiarity with crafting and creating that he does.

S: I think we have the same passion for students and equity. I like to write a lot and I know he likes to write some songs as well. I think that the output of our writing is different. Mine is much more short form: I like to write poetry. I think he likes to write longer things. We both love our cats. We both like food. But we don’t really talk about this kind of stuff. I usually share stories that are related to something he’d tell me or something adjacent to that.

Q: If you had to describe each others’ personalities as an animal, what would it be?

S:  I think Mr. Vore is like a capybara. They are friends with every other animal. You see them hanging out with guinea pigs and dogs and humans and maybe cheetahs. They’re pretty chill, and they’re not angry or ferocious animals. When I look at them, I’m like, “I need more of that energy in my life.”

V: I just think fondly of cats and I feel like I would fit Mr. Starkie into the feline species in some complementary manner.

S: I think that I’m like a nice cat. I know how to be cozy, how to be comfortable. I feel like I am fairly confident in who I am. I like and also don’t like to be around people sometimes. I feel like cats kind of have that introvert-extrovert balance. I think I have a cat vibe. 

V: That’s my answer.

**Responses edited for length and clarity**