"God has placed no limit to intellect." (Bacon)

.....One day years ago, while I was teaching a class, in the middle of doing Hamlet's soliloquy in Elizabethan English, in walks a young lady, whom I presume had transferred from another class.  I haven't lost touch with her since.  From the moment I first saw her, I sensed that she was something special; and she was then, and she is now.  I received the following email from her and I will publish it for two reasons. 1) I'm continuing to do what Mark Twain suggested; namely print whatever comes to mind in a day of your life and damn the consequences, and 2) This girl's feelings are indicative of having a teacher who may have more of an impact on a student's life than a parent has.  It happens all the time.  It happened at North Shore H.S. with Phil Bergovoy whose influence with many students of his is incalculable. It happened with Bob Blitz and Al Haulenbeck and Bruce Mooney, and with countless others all over the country.  Don't underestimate the value of a good teacher,  and I don't mean in $s. Without tenure, students will be in danger, for any board member or administrator could fire a good teacher to be replaced by a friend or relation. Tenure is the price a school has to pay in order to insure the classroom presence of the good teacher.

.....Doc I have never seen a DVD of any of your shows, and would LOVE to have a copy of one of your favorites. I will never forget how you brought Shakespeare, as well as many of my favorite poets to life for me (Auden... Pound... Eliot... Oh, there's still never been a poem to surpass "Prufrock," in my humble opinion!).  That first day I walked into your classroom --- in the temporary building off of what, if I recall correctly, was the "J" wing -- you were in the middle of reciting some Shakespearian tidbit (long since forgotten) in that perfect Elizabethan tongue. I was your captive from thence forward!

I may have forgotten what play you were reciting from, but I'll tell you this: Although you never required us to memorize anything, I was so inspired by that class (I was a sophomore at the time), that during those few weeks, I (knowing absolutely nothing of Shakespeare prior and being pretty much a slacker in all other subjects) committed to memory the famous soliloquies from Hamlet and MacBeth, respectively, "To Be or Not to Be," and "Tomorrow, and Tomorrrow and Tomorrow." All you, Doc.

Oh, and long after those days, William Faulkner became one of my favorite authors. My first reading of the" tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury" (this was years after I left high school, but before I began college) brought me back to that classroom once again.

If I never get to say it enough, know that you have been one of the greatest inspirations in my life.

Love, X.

.....I thank you, X, and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is at the top of my list as well