Thanking those who've molded our lives

(Cecil Blankenship, Bob Zeiger, Russ Basham, Kevin Bourne, George Warren, Mary Marshall)

Cecil Blankenship sprinted down the hall. I had just left his office after a very disappointing interview, having been rejected for the ETSU Master of Arts in Teaching program.

“I like you, Ben,” said Dr. Blankenship. “But our program is already full for the coming semester, and even if it weren’t, there are so many more qualified applicants ahead of you. Many have a 4.0 GPA in their undergrad degree and obviously took their grades much more seriously than you did. From your transcript it looks like you might have partied a lot there at the end.” Then he shook his head sadly. “Two F’s your last semester? I’m sorry, but we just can’t get you into the program. How could I ever justify taking a chance on you, when I have applicants with four years of straight A’s? ”

I thanked the kind, honest man and plodded slowly down the hall, my mind scrambling for what I might do now that my big dream of changing careers at age thirty and becoming a teacher had just been shattered.

Suddenly I heard footsteps behind me. Fast footsteps. Very fast, as Dr. B. was quite an athlete. Then I heard his voice.