in memory........

“What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.” 

― Paulo Coelho, The Witch of Portobello

A few days ago, I ran upon a face book post from the librarian of my old high school.  It was there in her post that I learned of the passing of my old tennis coach, Linda Winstead.

It made me sad for a moment, 

but then I continued to watch a stream of statements 

about this woman

grow and grow and grow.  Former students proclaiming how she had touched their life and
I thought...
what a lived life....what a lived life.....what a legacy.

I remember seeing her the first day of school at South Hopkins High--I think it was our junior year of high school.  It was kind of exciting seeing her because she looked young....not much older than the rest of us....and we usually didn't get a young teacher at our school...

she walked

with a kind of joy that could be seen 

long before she talked.

I hear she was a really hard teacher who invited her students to study.  I didn't get to have her for a class---I took my American and Kentucky history class from the men's basketball coach

and

if I must admit it

I'm not sure we learned any history in the class--

most days

I skipped and went to the darkroom to develop photos.

I'm sure if I'd sat under the teaching 

of Linda Winstead--

I'm sure I might know more history than I do now.

She was my tennis coach

and

I'll be quite honest

i wasn't a great tennis player

but 

Ms. Winstead 

got out there on the courts 

a group of ragtag girls who

really didn't have much of idea what tennis was and she taught and taught and taught
she made learning of all kinds fun!!

Here's what I learned from her:

1.  sometimes you have to run through the fear of missing and rush the net.

sometimes you make it

hit the ball
sometimes you might get hit...hit in the face or nose or mouth...it will smart for a minute
but don't let it stop you...

and

if you miss..

well there will be another chance.

2.  laughing makes playing more fun

enjoy what you do

and 

give what your doing all you got.

3. sometimes the most important lessons don't happen on the tennis court or in a classroom but out in the mix of life

moving and talking and being.

She met us for pizza,

cheered us along from the sidelines

and

just laughed every time I screamed when I missed the ball.  Some days she'd imitate me and screamed
just like me when she missed.

We played jokes on her

toilet papered her car

and

I can remember one night

driving by her house

and 

watching my friends

get in her car,

pop the clutch and roll it down the hill

so she'd think it was lost.

She inspired me to write---

as later in life

she 

would 

write a column in the local paper--

I figured if she did it

perhaps...

just perhaps...

i might one day write something 

good enough for someone to read.

She lived...

taught others to live

and

laugh and love

and

the legacy she leaves behind

will be through

all of us 

who were touched by her

living
by

paying it forward---
giving others what she gave us...
in that way
she lives forever.

Linda Winstead

you taught us well

taught us about 

living

and

showed us what it looked like.

This old student of yours

will be 

forever grateful 

for the gifts you gave the world.

This one 

is 

in memory 

of 

a teacher

who touched me
and influenced me
in ways
I can't even begin to articulate...
thankful for her life lived well.

“What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.” 

....
Enjoy your Saturday...
and
if by chance
you've ever been touched by a teacher
do something nice for someone today
and
pay their legacy forward...


The radical rambler...