June 29, 2015
(This is part of a 365 project
during my 70th years where I write and illustrate a blog on each
day’s gift.)
After
years of teaching 150 students each year, it is impossible to remember every one.
However, some teaching memories linger because of a special spark, intelligence,
creativity, misbehavior, a single incident, kindness, a comment or even a note.
I
remember one 9th grader from the early 70’s who had an insatiable
well of questions, a drive to find answers, a passion for connection and
learning, an affinity for humor and a talent for all of these. When she wrote, she
led readers to explore nuances, and when she spoke, her honesty was evident but
you knew there was more. I always wondered how such a teenager came from an
unsupportive family background. And I continued to wonder what adult she had
become. Sometimes I searched online, but
the chances were slim of finding a woman with the surname of Kelley that had
not been changed in marriage.
Serendipity
and not technology brought answers. One day in Costco, I heard a voice call
out, “Mrs. Caples!” (My past alias.) I turned toward the woman’s voice. “You were
one of my favorite teachers.” How could she have recognized me after so many
years? When she told me her name, of course I remembered her—one of my nicest students.
I gave her my card, received a Facebook friend invitation, joined a Facebook
group for Ben Franklin Junior High and asked if anyone knew how to get in touch
with Darlene Kelley. Someone responded with information that led me to a Reverend
Kelley in upstate New York.
After
all these years, Darlene Kelley and I reconnected and it is obvious that all
her special qualities have grown stronger with age. “You don’t know what a
difference you have made in my life,” she told me yesterday with a catch in her
voice. With a catch in my typing fingers this moment, I say that her words make
a difference to me.
My gift today is a tribute.
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You can find links to my other
posts on this project here: 
And I am cracking up looking at these pictures of us....
ReplyDeleteWe are crazy women. Good crazy women.
Agreed!
Delete