A friend of a friend of a sister of an acquaintance saw you in a grocery store last week. And so it got back to me that you are still in Shaker Heights. I thought I had lost track of you long ago.

I am one of the hundreds of former second-grade students that you helped turn into responsible adults. Accordingly, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for what you did for all of us. You were tough, you were confident, you were relentless, and of course, you were absolutely correct. My mother told me so at the time, though I had difficulty accepting it. But I made it through your class unscathed. (I learned that if I dressed better than the rest of the kids, you seemed to pick on me less... not much less, but a little less. Every bit helped.)

Only years later did I begin to realize just how special Sussex School had been for me and my classmates. I began hearing stories from friends outside of Shaker Heights. They had a much easier ride in elementary school... and they have been at a disadvantage ever since. And of course, I read what is happening in schools today. I can only imagine how I would have turned out had I had been enrolled in a public school in the nineties. I was not a troublemaker, but Mrs. Kirsch [the principal] called me flippant. Naturally, she was right. The solution back then was consistent discipline and strict adherence to high standards. If I had been a second-grader in 1995, I suppose there would not have been enough Ritalin on earth to deal with me. Wrong answer! Of course, you and I both know that.

Every day I use the lessons and principles I learned at Sussex School. I don't know... some of my classmates may not remember them as well as I do. It may not have been obvious at the time, but the attention to detail and high standards that all of my Sussex School teachers set made a deep and lasting impression on us. Stated simply, it worked. For that, I am forever grateful.

I have such wonderful memories of Sussex School, and I am so glad that, for some reason, those memories are still fresh. I can still recall you in your Halloween costume, a long nightgown and night cap, holding a candlestick. I think I may still have a picture here somewhere....

I was able to reach out and thank Mrs. Kirsch, Miss Boylan [1st grade] and Miss Hudson [5th grade] in person. It was one of the best things I have ever done. I saw Mrs. Kirsch just a few weeks before she moved from her home on Eaton in 1989. I guess I came to my revelation way too late for Miss Foster [4th grade] (Mrs. John (?) Caruth, after she married and moved to North Carolina, I think). I am still searching for Miss Jones [6th grade]. I saw her at Thornton Park in Shaker Heights during the summer of 1969; she was Mrs. Comey then. But I did not take the opportunity to thank her when I had the chance. I have no idea how to reach her now.

As I understand it, Miss Merker [4th grade] has or soon will move to Kansas. I would appreciate it very much if you would pass the spirit of this letter on to her. Since I could not be in two fourth grade classes at the same time, I was not in her class. But my sister was; fourth grade was a winner no matter which teacher you had.

I do not have any children, but I try to pass on some of the values and lessons I learned at my Internet web site. Someday, I hope to put them in book form, but it is much easier to publish on the Internet than in printed form. My web site is aimed primarily at members of my generation, the baby boomers. The main themes are trivia, fun, music and memories. But the underlying theme is personal responsibility and remembering the lessons taught at Sussex School. The site is called Baby Boomer HeadQuarters (BBHQ); the Internet address is http://www.bbhq.com - I would be thrilled if you would take a look at my site and drop me a line. You can contact me directly at BBHQ. Of course, I would welcome any constructive criticism much more now than I did when I was eight.

But that is not my purpose for writing. My purpose is to let you know that, half a century later, the lessons you taught me and hundreds of my classmates are still paying off. You are, indeed, a member of the Greatest Generation.

Thank you so very much.

Do you have any idea who I am?

Of course you do.