I'm still going through drawers and boxes and files in the great purge of my workroom and at some point, this folded bit of paper did, indeed, flutter to the floor.
Dear Mrs. Skemp, it said ( my married name, remember, and the one I was known by when I taught English at Berkeley Prep in Tampa many long years ago.)
Someday when this flutters to the floor and you pick it up to read it, remember me and return it to the book to flutter down again to be reminded again.
I want you to know you were an inspiring and delightful teacher.
May 1968,
Robert Franckle
A Romantic and Adventurer
I'd forgotten this note but not Robert -- a member of my senior English class -- who, as I recall, loved to go fishing in Tampa Bay more than anything. Really, one of the sweetest guys you could imagine.
That was my last year at Berkeley. John and I left to go to Iowa where John entered grad school A year later we ran into Franckle (as he was called) in London on the last day of our great motorcycle adventure. It was a brief and joyous reunion and I've never seen him since.
I had a look for him just now on the Internet and he seems to be still in the Tampa Bay area -- I hope he's still fishing, I hope he's still a Romantic and an Adventurer.
And I wish I could tell him how welcome and heartwarming his note was in the midst of a dreary, tedious task. I'll put it back so that I may have the joy of being delighted by it all over again.
12 comments:
How how sweeet!
May it flutter to the ground many more times.
What an awesome idea and pleasant surprise, over and over.
That's a great way to remember someone and to feel good about it.
You started me (finally) going through my many old papers. I'm determined not to have 7 drawers of files any more. It's heavy just throwing them out! One thing I'm doing is skipping file folder as well as hanging folders...how redundant and heavy to haul all that cardboard around!
What a delight to get such a forward thinking note from a wise soul from the far past! I love how the note did exactly as it was told....fluttered to the floor in correct form :^D
What a wonderful way to be remembered. Over and over. And perhaps the note will be found by your children or grandchildren one day. It's a treasure.
What a find and a vivid remembering. How lucky you are to find it. Thanks for sharing.
He's my kind of man a romantic.
It is a rewarding not to write to someone. I entered Iowas State University in the fall of 1968 as a freshmen. I bet you were in the Drake University area. Great posting.
We were in Iowa City, L.D.
I've so enjoyed these last three posts. The power of words from the past always surprises me. And how wonderful to be reminded and connected to the past by a fluttering piece of paper.
You were obviously one of those special teachers who cared in every way. My husband taught high school art for 30 plus years. After over 10 years since he retired I still run across notes from parents and students telling him what a difference he made in their lives. What the world needs now is.... more teachers like you!
As an English student of Vicki's in the early 70s, I can say with assurance that she was a wonderful teacher who opened my eyes and fired my imagination, and whose influence I have felt all of my life. I am so thrilled that we have been able to reconnect after all these years. Teachers are my heroes.
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