Teaching others how to laugh at themselves

To the editor:
    In the older part of the old Skyway Middle School, about midway down the first floor hallway was the classroom. It was not just any classroom. It was Ms. Knox’s classroom. She represented one of the more daring classes for her charges since she was preparing us for “HIGH SCHOOL!” On her desk she had the usual items teacher’s have, Stapler, staple remover, pencils, pens, and papers.     Ms. Knox loved a good joke. That was often the indication that she was up to something with her students. You could hear the laughter down the hall as she wound her students up with crazy examples and exercises.
    Along with all the tools of the trade for teachers, she had a stone. Egg-shaped and about the size of your palm. This was the egg! For those of us who were the gullible type, as most eighth-graders were at some point, she would wait for her moment. She always welcomed students to explore what she had on top of her desk. And, there was lots of stuff to explore. But when it came to the stone! That was different! It was a one-time only event. She would get a student who was just a little too curious. Then the story began about where it was found and what it was: A dinosaur egg!. Wow! Then, “Hold it up to your ear and you can hear the dinosaur moving around! I’m still waiting for it to hatch.” She taught us to laugh at ourselves, important as we moved from one school to another.
    I knew him as Gordon, Gordo. We had a few classes together in high school. He was always the joker and I know that he would have enjoyed helping the egg to hatch! He was at the other school, Cunningham so he missed out on that experience. After graduation our paths took us to different places. He enjoyed creating things and making people happy. Certainly, he worked to build the dreams that everyone else had. We are wiser for having known him.
    I mention these brief thoughts on a delightful spring morning in the Cotswolds of England. The trees are in full bloom, the early flowers replaced with the hardier bushes and trees. It will be a great day today. The birds are cheering it on and I can see a large bunch of rabbits enjoying the grass on the lawn.
    It’s moments like these that we miss our friends and family; hoping that they have found peace.