I’ll always remember Mrs. Collins

Growing up and working my way through school – not to be confused with getting any form of employment, to enable one to finish their bachelor’s or complete their master’s – no, working my way through school to me, meant showing up for grades 1-12! I wasn’t all that interested in school, especially the early grades. The acres and acres of woods across from where I grew up provided me too many wild adventures as a young boy. I couldn’t wait to get this school thing over with each day so I could get home, throw those books on the bed and cross the street into those wild woods where my land of adventure waited each day!

Mrs. Collins was my 4th-grade teacher. I’ll always remember Mrs. Collins, she encouraged my reading, which led me to like writing, which led me to my interest in storytelling! Not lying, mind you, but imagining all sorts of happenings, in those early years, to amuse my little schoolmates. I became their source of funny stories, their scary stories. They always wanted more. I had an insatiable audience back then.

Mrs. Collins read to our class all kinds of stories each day, and she would always ask the class if anyone would like to read a few pages of her Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, or Wind in the Willows. There was something in her tone or her amazement of the details of those stories that put life into her words. We all sat on the edges of our seats when she got out a book to read to us! Mrs. Collins was pretty! She was like a perfect second mom to us kids. Mrs. Collins was very patient! Mrs. Collins was always interested in listening to us – to me! I loved Mrs. Collins.

Funny how we get older and we go through life learning about all kinds of things, many good and those that are not-so-good. We all try to forget those times we made our worst mistakes. We enjoy looking back at all our good times. I have some regrets, but one thing I don’t regret is how Mrs. Collins loved me and inspired me to use my imagination and not be afraid to speak up so others can hear me.!

Thank you, Mrs. Collins, I will always remember you. You were special in my life.

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