I Will Remember You...For A While?
Over the last twelve years, I have lost ten students. Some were victims of gang warfare, others suicide, murder, war or car accidents. If I think long enough, I can mentally bring up a picture of all of them, as I had them in my class. Except one.
In my town there is a "dead man's curve" that whips under an overpass. It is positioned at an odd angle, and even during the day, if you are going too fast, it's hard to keep from squealing your tires as you go over it. During the night, this stretch of road is notorious for being the source of cars going off the road or worse, hitting one of the bridge re-enforcements.
This is what happened to a student of mine many years ago. At the time I received word at school of her passing, I was still new to the area and unsure of which stretch of road people were talking about.
But after she died, her family resurrected a cross at the site to remind people of the dangers of going too quickly.
To tell you the truth, I'd forgotten about my student until last night, when pre-occupied, I too found myself going a little too fast around "dead man's curve" and my headlights shone on the roadside cross.
In an instant, all of the memories of my student's death came to me except for two things: her name and what she looked like.
For the rest of the ride home I racked my brain trying to bring up this information and I couldn't.
The guilt I felt about this was tremendous. How could I not remember her name? She was one of my "babies"?
I think her name was Anna. Or was it Amy? I remember she was Aisian or Pacific Islander, but that's it.
I'm sorry that I can't remember. Of all the things a teacher remembers, her lost shining stars are some of them. But not this one and I don't know why.
It has been so long ago, but that's no excuse. The only thing I have to remind me of her is the cross I passed again last night.
I am reminded of the tenuity of life. One day we're here and everyone knows us, the next we're gone and life goes on without us.
One day I too will be reduced to a memorial. The reality is I won't be remembered forever, even though the mark I long to leave on the world may be significant.
I hope my student recognizes that her mark was significant too. I may not remember her name or what she looked like exactly, but I remember her spirit and what a loss it was when she was taken from us.
I remember her again, today. Speed and wet roads took her life. Last night, her cross reminded me to slow down and saved mine.
In my town there is a "dead man's curve" that whips under an overpass. It is positioned at an odd angle, and even during the day, if you are going too fast, it's hard to keep from squealing your tires as you go over it. During the night, this stretch of road is notorious for being the source of cars going off the road or worse, hitting one of the bridge re-enforcements.
This is what happened to a student of mine many years ago. At the time I received word at school of her passing, I was still new to the area and unsure of which stretch of road people were talking about.
But after she died, her family resurrected a cross at the site to remind people of the dangers of going too quickly.
To tell you the truth, I'd forgotten about my student until last night, when pre-occupied, I too found myself going a little too fast around "dead man's curve" and my headlights shone on the roadside cross.
In an instant, all of the memories of my student's death came to me except for two things: her name and what she looked like.
For the rest of the ride home I racked my brain trying to bring up this information and I couldn't.
The guilt I felt about this was tremendous. How could I not remember her name? She was one of my "babies"?
I think her name was Anna. Or was it Amy? I remember she was Aisian or Pacific Islander, but that's it.
I'm sorry that I can't remember. Of all the things a teacher remembers, her lost shining stars are some of them. But not this one and I don't know why.
It has been so long ago, but that's no excuse. The only thing I have to remind me of her is the cross I passed again last night.
I am reminded of the tenuity of life. One day we're here and everyone knows us, the next we're gone and life goes on without us.
One day I too will be reduced to a memorial. The reality is I won't be remembered forever, even though the mark I long to leave on the world may be significant.
I hope my student recognizes that her mark was significant too. I may not remember her name or what she looked like exactly, but I remember her spirit and what a loss it was when she was taken from us.
I remember her again, today. Speed and wet roads took her life. Last night, her cross reminded me to slow down and saved mine.