I come from a long line of teachers–some professionals and some who simply know how to teach, and I’m happy that one of the characters in Irish Encounter is Miss Myrtle. She’s a fun-loving, retired teacher, who, as she approaches the short rows of her life, still enjoys living.
I based her on my own great aunt Myrtle. I didn’t rename the character because I wanted this character to be a tribute to my aunt.
Like the fictional Miss Myrtle, my aunt left her home for California to work in an airplane factory during World War II. She wielded a book keeping pencil, however, not a drill or a ball-peen hammer.
She always had a twinkle in her eye and a ready joke to share. Some were G-rated. Others leaned more to the PG side.
Fortunately, my Myrtle didn’t lose her love to the war. She married her hero, Leon, a Pearl Harbor survivor, after both returned home. She taught elementary school for forty years and enjoyed traveling all over the United States in their RV.
A real teacher at heart, she loved reading out loud to her beloved nieces and nephews. I still have some paper snowflakes from one of her tutorials.
Our family has missed her treasured presence since 2004.
Yesterday, several special teachers helped me celebrate the launch of Irish Encounter–Kay Barbour, Jan Oldham, Marion Edwards, Grace Worley, Rayonell (Hinton) Rose, and Heidi Sullivan.
Who’s your favorite teacher?
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