Today my steps took me into #25 School at the corner of Bay and Goodman in Rochester. These were steps I had traveled before, but not in the last 25 years. In the 1980s, I taught remedial math there. Today I went as an author with a power point presentation about writing and Rochester – in other words, still teaching. The parking lot and school office were just as I remembered, but I found that I had no recollection of the gym at all – I guess I never had a reason to go in there. I remembered the school library, but spent a few somber moments remembering my friend Carolyn Claytor, the librarian there, who has since died of cancer. All in all, it was an uplifting experience. The kids were attentive, the teachers were appreciative and the technological equipment performed without a glitch.

My favorite part of the day was when, just after each presentation, one student from each class hung back to thank me for coming and to tell me how much they enjoyed my visit. These were not teacher directed thank yous, but sincere, off the cuff remarks. It made me think of the story of Jesus and the lepers. He cured ten lepers, but only one came back to thank him. Jesus wants us all to be thankful, but for me, just those solitary thank yous were enough to make my day.