Dude...

There is a saying that death loves company. Or misery always comes in threes. You understand.

Unfortunately -- a beloved teacher, coach, husband, and parent has passed away (click). I'm fortunate only in that it is not someone from my immediate family. But it is someone from my school family. Days when we laughed much, loved easily, and thought we were bulletproof.

In 2001, it stopped me a bit when I learned my own debate coach was leaving Shawnee Heights and moved to KC. When my nephew graduated high school in 2003, I was reminded of my age again.. not just by the flashbacks of my sister toting Les off a plane in a baby carrier the first time we met.

No, what really caught my attention was the fact one of my favorite teachers was the speaker... A man that said he been teaching for almost thirty years, and had actually contemplated retirement before that school year. I remember thinking "there is no way Schultz should be retiring. He's awesome!"

But then I had to remember that fifteen short years had already passed. My class reunion was coming that fall. And with Kapfer already gone from Shawnee Heights, the time warp* seemed all the more surreal.

Now one of the debate and forensics coaches that treated us like one of their own is gone. We always knew the coaches to seek out for guidance if we couldn't find ours. Or sometimes the ones we'd rather talk to, if we had fallen out of favor with our coach for acting like adolescents**.

Mr. McKeithen was a big guy, in heart and in prescence. I don't feel much like a grownup today.

: (






*It's just a jump to the left. Isn't Rocky Horror Picture Show required study for high school geeks? If it's not, it should be!
**We couldn't help it, we were hormonal! Geeks need to act out, too.