Thank you and Farewell

This is an aside from what I usually post. In today's paper there is an obituary for a teacher who taught me long ago at the now gone Silver Heights Collegiate. His name is Glen Loveridge. Mr. Loveridge was one of those teachers who in his quiet, unassuming, gently manner made a mark on me, although I didn't realize it at the time. He taught Chemistry and Physics, only chemistry to my class. Chemistry was not my favourite subject (gets lumped in under the heading "Sciences I choose not to understand") but Mr. Loveridge showed infinite patience with me and I am sure with others, as we struggled to make sense of ChemStudy. Honestly I had not thought about him or any other teachers for years, until the 50th anniversary and closing of Silver Heights. Since I became an educator myself, you would have thought that I would have at least considered what it was I liked or disliked about the teachers with whom I had come in contact, but I really didn't until that reunion. At that time, though, I consciously did think about many teachers, including Mr. Loveridge, whose skill, dedication, and caring natures made my high school years what they were. I like to think that I had that same influence on one or two students over the years, but one rarely finds out if that has been the case. I wish I had taken the time to tell Mr. Loveridge how he impresssed me, but I didn't, and for that I am sorry. I wish his family peace, now that he is at peace after a struggle with cancer. He is still teaching me - in this case, the lesson is "Don't wait to tell people what they mean to you." You were special, Mr. Loveridge.