Welp... So it goes... The first COVID-19 death in my (extended) circle of acquaintance.
I just heard from a family member that they are seeing social media posts saying one of my high school English teachers recently died, and it was coronavirus-related.
We weren't close. I didn't know him that well. It wasn't my favorite or best class. But he was on almost every kid's short-list of favorite teachers in the school. He was laid-back without being a push-over, he was sharp-witted but self-deprecating, he could double-entendre while lecturing to a class of horny high schoolers -- with total plausible deniability to any onlooker, btw -- with a "butter wouldn't melt in his mouth" affect.
I hadn't seen or spoken to him in many, many years. I hadn't even thought about him or heard his name in a long time. But he is about my parents' age and lives in their county. And his classes did make an impression on me.
It was in his class I first read Kafka (The Trial) and Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest) and Poe (Annabel Lee) and Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet) and Bierce (An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge) and Vonnegut (Slaughterhouse Five). And a lot more besides -- but some of those leave feelings and phrases inside of you which never go away, and so are easier to remember at the moment.
So it goes.
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