The internet is a wonderful thing

My father was a school teacher. For most of my childhood, he worked at a specialty school in South San Francisco that taught adult students English as a second language. My Dad was a wonderful teacher, and was undoubtedly part of the reason students came from all over the world to attend the school. Despite its unique nature, however, the school was not a private school but was, in fact, a public school. So, when Prop. 13 passed back in 1978, the school's days were numbered. My Dad, a brilliant ESL teacher ended up teaching dead-end high schoolers in the South San Francisco public school district, one of the worst districts in California (at the time -- I don't know about now). It was such a waste of talent and so embittered his declining years. But that's not the story.

The story is that, as I said, my father was a very beloved teacher. And since these foreign students were adults alone in a strange country, he often ended up befriending them. The students he did take to heart were invariably intelligent, interesting, well-educated people, and he ended up corresponding with many of them for years.

What makes the above my story, rather than my Dad's is that today, in the mail, I received a letter from Germany. I had no idea what that was about, since I have no friends in Germany. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was one of my Dad's students. He last saw us more than thirty years ago, and last corresponded with my Dad about 25 years ago. Then, he was cleaning out some drawers and stumbled across an old letter from my Dad. In it, my Dad mentioned my name and, since I still go by my maiden name, he was able to track me down using the internet.

My Dad's student is coming to visit us in the summer. Although my Dad has since died, my Mom and I are very much looking forward to a reunion that wouldn't have happened but for the wonders of the internet.