I’m a bit sad as the COVID-19 prevents me from substitute teaching at my favorite high needs middle school with a population of nearly 90% Hispanics. My teacher stage sometimes allowed me to share my many irreparable stupid and selfish mistakes. One was asking the six-graders “Please don’t be like Mr. Mike,” as I would cuss; beg for cash and the car keys from my bedridden dying widowed mother after my father’s 1963 death. And, “too-late-crying” at her 1970 graveside service.

A saved unsolicited after class note from a Mexican-American 6-grader who wrote in his humble English as a second language, “Dear Mr. Mike all the storys [stories] that you tell us about you saying bad words to your mother, I use to do that and when you tell us the story that your mom past (passed) away and you want to go back and fix all of that. I also felt the same way because I tell my mom bad words and now I don’t because of your help Mr. Mike.”

Hope the back-to-school bells ring soon for this 67-year-old.

Mike Sawyer
msawyer911@gmail.com