The most profound thing I remember about Ms. Lacey, my counselor, was when my uncle Bocky died. I had missed school to attend the services and being an relatively uncommon last name we shared Ms. Lacey connected why I was out. The next day she called me up after class and asked if I had been out because he was a relative and said yes, explained he was my Pawpaw's brother.

Turns out what I didn't know was Uncle Bocky was very handsome and quite the football player in his younger days. How did Ms. Lacey know? She was a cheerleader and remembered him from those days. She asked if I needed to talk and I said no, did she? We laughed and she said no, but she hadn't thought about cheering in high school for a long time so she was sorry about Bocky but thanks for the memory. It was a nice moment that only I got to share with her and that was cool.

I loved school myself, I looked forward to going back each year. But I was always kind of shy and didn't tell many teachers how great I thought they were. I think I should write a couple of the others letters if I can find their addresses before I read their obits.