Living in a Small Town

I always knew that the town I live in is small, however, the longer I live here the smaller it seems to get. Now Mark has lived here his entire life (other than his college years) and it is not surprising to me when we're out and about together that we see several people he knows. He's taught and coached for a number of years, so parents and former students frequently approach him to have a conversation about their lives since Mark last had contact with them. This happens so regularly that I often refer to Mark as Mayor Mac. Oddly enough, this fan-base of his doesn't only exist in our town. When we go to OSU football games, he always sees someone who knows him. We've been at the coast and have had people holler from across the street, "Hey Mac!". This has happened in Portland, as well. My favorite example, though, is our first trip to Yellowstone together. I kid you not, we were walking near Old Faithful when out of the crowd we heard, "Mac!!!" Mark then proceeded to have yet another conversation with a former student. The humorous part to all of this is that 90% of the time, he hasn't got a clue who he's talking with. I know he remembers who they are if he introduces me. Otherwise, he'll be graceful and appear to be genuinely interested in what these individuals have to say but walk back to me and say, "I have no idea....".

Well, I went into Fred Meyer the other day, for miscellaneous items, and before I even made my way through the garden entrance I saw the realtor I had been working with. We chatted for a few minutes about houses, the market, etc. I continued walking through the doors and made my way to the clothing section. As I strolled up and down the aisles I heard a familiar voice. The voice was yelling and giggling, and swearing, unfortunately. I looked up from one of the clothing racks to identify the voice. I made eye contact with the young lady and thought to myself "ohhhh" while she proceeded to grin from ear to ear. It was Anna. Anna was in my class 2 years ago and on my caseload. She was from a disfunctional home and was absolutely out of control at school. In fact, as an IEP team we changed her placement to a self-contained program and she wound up at the other middle school. Despite Anna's hard life and poor choices, she was a very soft individual who was easily wounded. She often attacked before anyone could see how vulnerable she really was. This defense mechanism kept other peers away and outraged teachers. Anna could turn a classroom upside down in 3.2 seconds. Yet, she always used my class as a safe zone and would show up at random times during the day refusing to go to any other rooms. During her 8th grade year she got pregnant; Anna was an absolutely beautiful girl without boundaries. She kept the baby, of course, and I lost contact with her after the end of her 8th grade year.
So there I am in Fred Meyer, holding a dress, jaw wide open, when she walks right up to me (she is also much taller than me), smiling, and puts her arms around me for the biggest bear hug I think I've ever received. She started rambling on and saying, "Look at you all cute and married"! She reached for my hand and examined my ring. She wanted to know if had babies yet, if I was still teaching, etc. I inquired about her and who she was with. She introduced me to the two boys she was with as "skinny white b*&#@" and "slut". I asked her not to swear in public as 3 heads turned to look at her when she "made the introductions". She told me she was going to drop out of school if they made her go back to alternative ed., that her mom had kicked her out but had kept the baby, and she mentioned that she was living on the streets and with these 2 boys. As you are figuring out, Anna has issues. A prominent issue that she has is lying. You never quite knew what the truth was. Trying to call home to confirm or deny her statements was useless; Anna came by her issues honestly and her mother was worse. As I was thinking about what her life must be like and what the future life of her infant son will be like she asked me if I still made lasagna and said she had been craving some. I used to make her lunch as a reward and she would always request lasagna and sit with me during her lunch to eat together. I had completely forgotten about these lunches, and found myself smirking. I actually haven't made lasagna since I last made it for her....
We said good-bye and she hugged me again. I told her I just want to take care of her and hoped that she made good choices. She smiled and said, "You always did take care of me" then she was off.
I compared this encounter with the dozens that Mark has. His conversations with former students always include college, families, etc. I look forward to the day I have that type of encounter. For now, I suppose that's the difference between regular and special education. Actually, it's the difference between opportunities and parental support, but don't get me started!
So, I wandered away from the clothing area and saw my friend Eileen (the one I went to the Bodies exhibit with), and while we were talking I couldn't help but think about what a small town I live in....