My mom called after I got off work tonight to break the news to me. Right after I got off work, actually (and thank heaven she did, because I can only imagine the meltdown of monumental proportions that I would have had, had I had to find out by logging on Facebook and seeing the multitude of status updates dedicated to Miss C).My high school English teacher died today. And I'm stunned. (I just shuddered, thinking how horrified she'd be if she knew that I started that last sentence with "and", and with her having just passed on, she SO could have seen me do it. I'm kidding - I don't think her ghost is gonna haunt my apartment and read/critique/correct my blog. I'm sure she has much better things to do with her time now, like maybe sitting down and having a one-on-one with one Mr. William Shakespeare.)
I know that most of you probably think it's silly that I would blog about her, that it's sappy of me to post her pic and tell you all that I love her... but the thing is, so much of who I am (grammatically, at least), I am because of her. She read my papers, listened to my adolescent pontifications, and shaped me in ways that no one else could have. She was, in a word, fabulous.
Carolyn Cunningham was one of the wittiest, funniest, smartest women I've ever known. I think of her every time I see the gold embossed 1880 printing of the Shakespeare tragedies I have on my bookshelf, every time I read The Count of Monte Cristo, every year on March 15th when I eat a Caesar Salad in celebration of the Ides of March. She encouraged a generation of Snowflake High School students to read, write, and express ourselves through the written word. I'm so grateful for her influence on my life.
Thank you, Miss C., for loving literature, and for sharing your love of literature with us. You will be missed, greatly.
6 comments:
That is so sweet. As a former teacher it makes me happy that she made such a huge impact on your life!
That is sweet. Great teachers really do make this world a better place. I have many special ones as well!
Lovely post, Laur.
I'm a sap, too. That made me cry and I've never met her. Love you!
Awh, thanks ladies. When I was in the throes of despair on Thursday night (she died suddenly and unexpectedly... it was a shock to everyone who knew her), I thought (tearfully, I might add), "this is even SADDER than when Michael Jackson died!". Uhm, yeah... BECAUSE I ACTUALLY KNEW HER! Good gravy, I'm a scary little thing.
She was fabulous. Other than family, she is one of the 3 women who've had the most impact on my life. For 20 years I've heard her voice in my head saying "less commas, more periods" (you'll notice how often I listen to that voice... but I do hear it, nonetheless). She was probably the first Grammar Nazi I ever knew (and loved) - outside of my own family, anyway.
Thanks, all, for understanding my need to share. I love you girls! :-)
Miss C was a TRUE inspiration to all of us who had the honor of knowing her and learning from her! SHS has lost a legend! CRY!
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