I normally take a break this time of year, as to get ready for the semester and mourn the end of summer, but this year, my decision on when to call it quits for a while was the result of a funny conversation with my mom.
She called me to tell me that a lady from her old neighborhood had died and that she decided to attend the funeral. Mom had taught four of the woman’s five children over the course of her teaching career and wanted to pay her respects to the family.
Mom said the kids were all grown up and they all remembered her, despite all the time had passed.
“Do you know what question they asked me first?,” she said to me. “‘Do you still have that Corvette? Does it still have the side pipes?”
To be fair, it is a really sweet ride…
She assured them the car was still part of the family. She also noted that she was still substitute teaching.
“Are you still ruling with an iron fist?” she told me they asked.
At that moment, I started thinking about what weird-ass things students will remember about me if they see me years later. It won’t be the “noun-verb-object holy trinity” or the “take a breath and read the lead aloud” suggestion, but instead it’ll be:
“Do you still have a jillion bobbleheads?”
“Are you still telling kids weird stories about that old hockey team?”
“Hey, you’re still bald!”
Thus, it might be time to seriously reconsider truck driving school or something…
In the meantime, I’ll take a couple weeks off and get back with you all in early September.
Best,
Vince (a.k.a. the Doctor of Paper)