A former student told me tonight that my classroom was the first place/time he ever heard Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

I consider that a compliment. Thank you, Chris.

I wish I’d had him for a full year. It’s too bad that he had to be in my class the Year of the Big Surgery, when I missed three-fourths of the year. I hated that, for many reasons, the least of which was my health.

I hated that year because I didn’t just miss days. I missed Greek Mythology, WWII and the Holocaust, compound/complex sentence diagrams, Helen Keller, O.Henry, John Steinbeck, irony, point of view, parody, farce, “Our Town,” and more. Most of all, I missed getting to know that year’s students. I missed that the most. Nine weeks is not long enough.

I did get in some Shakespeare, and a trip to the Big City to see a musical.

We won’t even discuss how Barney and Elmo died, except to say “who woulda thought they’d go like THAT. . . . .”

But I do still have it on my hard drive. When they come over, I’ll play it again.

I took Belle and some of her friends to Steak and Shake tonight after my class. Didn’t get home till a few minutes ago. Tomorrow is going to be a really long day.

It was worth it.

I mean, just to see that chair leg break, sending that poor girl flying backwards across the room. . . .

It was nobody we knew, so we giggled a bit. She was fine, fortunately.

And the large man who looked exactly like Israel Kamakawiwo’ole? We didn’t even notice. Nobody commented about how he probably played the ukelele, either. Especially not me.

And now I’m home again. And blogging, when I need to be averaging my Friday classes’ grades.

A good day, a good evening, a great night.

I hope all of you had the same.

(minus the chair leg breaking under you, of course.)