Way Back

 "You've been teaching here a long time, haven't you?" asked the guy at the desk when I checked into the rec center. 

"Thirty years," I told him.

"My name is Danny," he said.

"I recognize you," I replied. "You've been here a while, too."

"My kids went here way back," he said. "Brandon and--"

"Breaana!" I finished. "Wow! I taught Brandon and coached Breeana!"

"I knew I knew you," he smiled.

"You know what's crazy?" I said. "Brandon was actually in the first-grade class at Drew where I did my student teaching. I still keep school pictures of all those kids in my desk upstairs, because they were the first I ever taught."

"Oh let me see," he looked thoughtful, "that must be Lorenzo, Nikko, John,"

"Deonte, Charmaine, Akeyla," I continued. "When I started teaching here I couldn't wait until they got to sixth grade!"

"Well they're all 35, 36 now," he told me, "and a lot of them are still in the neighborhood and doing good."

"I'm glad to hear it," I said. "And the next time I come down, I'll put those pictures in my gym bag to show you!"