A+

As the credits rolled on a film I saw this evening I heard someone call out my name. It was dark in the theater, so I didn't recognize the young woman at first, but it turned out to be one of my former high school students. I followed her outside the theater door, where she introduced me to her husband. Then we shot the breeze a bit about the good old days, and she said many nice things about me -- I had been her English teacher six or seven years ago.

I run into former students occasionally, and former members of the Boys & Girls Club, where I worked for 13 years. They always heap kind words upon me, and it's quite flattering. It often takes many years, but the young people that you work with do absorb some of what you tell them and they do appreciate it. Like most worthwhile rewards, it is a bit slow in coming, but it is indeed rich and savory.