I opened an email recently from a dear friend, Brenda, who is traveling through breast cancer. She’s had surgery. Currently, she is following a regimen of chemotherapy which will be followed by radiation.
I met Brenda back in 1978 when I was a thoroughly green, new teacher, smack out of college. Brenda was the young mama of one bubbling, blond bundle, two year old Rebecca. Brenda’s husband was the head of the English department at Baymonte Christian High School. I had been hired to fill an opening in the English department after a young teacher had been killed in a driving accident on highway 17 between San Jose and Scotts Valley, California. The school was in Scotts Valley. I had never heard of this California town before Mr. Wallace, the school’s superintendent, came to Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana, looking for a teacher to fill Carol’s roll.
I had recently graduated from Grace. Mr. Wallace talked me into accepting the teaching position he needed to fill. No, this is not true. He did not talk me into it. He could not convince me. I had no interest. I was looking for a teaching position in either Ohio or Indiana. No. I was not interested in moving across country. Not one cell in my body was willing to trek across the country to some place I had never heard of to take on my first, full-time career position, all by myself. No.
One month later I found myself in Mr. Wallace’s office in Scotts Valley, California. Hmm. Continue reading
Journey North Character 