Anne Marie Howard And Others

With Lizzie away and it being too chilly to hit the golf course I do a lot of lying around the house watching television. There's been a commercial running on the TV for a few months. I think the product is Lipitor. It shows a family at the carnival on an outing. The lady in the film is Anne Marie Howard. She was a student of mine at Assumption High School in Davenport, Iowa in 1977. I actually knew her family when I was teaching in Ottumwa from '71-'74. Her parent's followed when I left that school and they too moved to Davenport. Anne was one of those students every teacher craves. She was like Snow White and very smart, too. Her dream then was to get in show business and the movies and, eventually, she did. Her first big break was a lead role in a two part Little House on the Prairie episode.
Other than Anne Marie, in twenty years of classroom teaching, I didn't have any zowie celebrity students. Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa has a son who was in my government class my first year teaching. The Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, also had a son, Darren, who was a great kid and in my class in Rock Island, Illinois.
My all time favorite student wasn't a super duper athlete even though he tried his best. He wasn't a 4.0 scholar, either, but he was a worked diligently in the classroom and made it a pleasure for me to have him show up. He never once gave me a problem and he's the most loyal athlete and student I've come across. Do you know what my coaching philosophy was when dealing with basketball players? I tried to keep the six kids who hated me away from the other six who hadn't made up their minds yet. With this kid I never had to worry. After graduation he went on to college then married his high school sweetheart. They successfully raised four daughters and a son and he is the owner of his own small business. Like everyone else he struggles to keep his head afloat. But he keeps his priorities straight and does things the way we're supposed to do; christian attitude and good values and a strong work ethic . He still calls me 'Coach' even after nearly forty years. I like that about him. He's not a Hollywood celebrity but in my book he's about the best there is or could be. That's what life's all about, isn't it?