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You know, something I’ve always inspired to do, but never really had the drive to really accomplish, is to make a difference in someone’s life. I try doing little things, random acts that make people’s lives better, and I suppose that yes, I have touched some lives. When I think of my mother, and how her passing affected so much people, I want to have the same effect on the people around me (without the whole dying part, of course).
Last week, Claudine sent me an email telling me that one of our highschool teachers had died. Not just any teacher, it was one of the teachers that you look back on your life and think, “He taught us a lot more than what was on the lesson plan.” Mr. M was probably my second favorite teacher ever (first, of course, being my high school band teacher). He was a history teacher, but he was so much more. I went to an all-girl Catholic high school, and he knew it was his responsibility to make us great. When we started out as freshman, we weren’t people to him - once we were able to think on our own, not to be afraid to challenge and debate and not just spout words from books, THAT’S when we became people. History wasn’t just stuff in a textbook, it was a lesson in life. He brought in movies to highlight events in time, he used MTV as a teaching tool, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” was a large part of his teaching plan, we learned about Vietnam from his own personal experiences. He didn’t talk to us, he talked with us. Also, since he taught a lot of the honors classes, he knew that his students were often stressed, but always told his students of the bigger picture - high school wasn’t everything. Tests were just stop signs in the road of life. Anyone who took his class knew how much he cared for each one of his students - he wanted us to be great, he pushed us to think, and he loved to make us laugh. He had such a passion for teaching, and put it on his shoulders to make sure that we were ready for the world out there. I’d have to say, though, that one of my favorite memories was on Halloween, when he brought in “The Evil Dead 2″ for us to watch.
My highschool set up a memory book where people could write in their favorite memories…it was beautiful to read. He started teaching at my school in 1979, and was still teaching until he passed. For 30 years, he had been making an impact on these womens’ lives - there were many who wrote that he had been their inspiration to go into teaching, or to pursue political science in law. I can only hope that he knew how much he has meant to so many people…
So goodbye, Mr. M, and I hope that heaven has a lot of Polo cologne in stock.
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…tonight! We’ll be in the bleachers, with a Cubs blanket and all bundled up!
Those of you using the default theme for this site will notice a little change. I’ve been working on something else, but I was thinking that now is a good time for a little change of pace, even if it means reverting to an old, but beloved, theme. You can always go back to the old theme in the sidebar…
As always, thank you all for your birthday greetings - I’m always in awe of how much people care to say “Happy Birthday”. I’m going to try and be better this year and return the favor to all of you! So thank you for your comments, text messages, phone calls, emails, and facebook posts. I feel loved!
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I was born.
Happy Birthday Me!
I don’t really feel old, but I think as more birthdays come, the less important they feel. I’m up at 3 am trying to work on some stuff I was supposed to have finished on Friday, and I feel very un-birthday-ish. Maybe I’ll feel more in the birthday mood once I go back to sleep and wake up.
It’s kinda funny when people ask what I want for my birthday, because I really don’t know. Usually if I want something, I buy it. But I guess there are the little extras that I don’t mind having that are on my Amazon wish list, but I can never come up with anything off the top of my head, except for a Wii, but everyone wants that!
I don’t travel as much, which is a great thing, especially since it looks like more airlines are going to adopt the habit of charging passengers for luggage. When I traveled, it was really stressing, and I hated being away from home, especially since my son was born. My life was going from airport to airport, trying to remember what my hotel room number was.
However, there was one thing about traveling that really warmed my heart. Whenever a group of soldiers would be coming back (or leaving from duty), people in the airport would stand up and clap. The whole airport would be standing and applauding these men and women for risking our lives for the war. The soldiers would smile and wave, sometimes with tears in their eyes. It definitely is a sight to see! I may not agree with this war, but I do support the men and women who are fighting it.
Luckily, Budweiser created a commercial that conveys a little bit of how powerful that recognition can be.
Happy Memorial Day!
