Thoughtful Thursday

Way back in the Ming Dynasty, when I was in Grade 9, I had the most amazing English teacher I would ever encounter.

I do not think that this was solely my opinion, as evidenced by the fact that in all the years after we graduated from Junior High, most of his students would return to his classroom to say hi and hang out. Some still hang with him to this day.

Mr. White is the fine gentleman responsible for awakening my appreciation of words and context and the power they hold. He made us willingly listen to John Denver and Roger Whitaker, and parse the meaning behind the words. That he could captivate an entire class of hormone-riddled, attention-deficit, moronic teenagers was nothing short of a miracle. But he did. Effortlessly.

During one of our post- JH visits, when my friend and I were having a 'Que Sera, Sera' moment with Mr. W, he told us that he saw Leanne as "a do-er". She would eventually find a life path that had her in the midst of the crowd.

These days, Leanne is a massage therapist. Score one for Mr. White.

He told me, much to my chagrin, that I was "an observer"; that I would hang back and listen and sponge it all in. I wish he could have been a little more specific as to how I would eventually regurgitate all of this information back out; at the time I didn't ask because I was kind of pissed off by his opinion. I wanted to be a do-er.

All these years later, I still wonder - Did Mr. White have magical powers or was he just saying what he thought we wanted to hear? I haven't a clue.

What I do know is that I love to listen. Plop me in the middle of a group, and I will just fade into a corner and observe, observe, observe. It, to me, is absolutely fascinating.

Today's TT speaks for itself - a love letter to all whom I know, all whom I have recently met, and all that I hope to one day meet:

"The tiniest
Story in your
Life can
Deeply
Touch another
You cannot
know
The effect
Your story
Might Have"
Sark