Snead

So this was like a class reunion except it was really about the band. Shawnee Mission North (mostly) band. Which I participated in as a member of the Jazz Band in the 1980s.

I remember a few teachers from back then. For you newcomers, let me set the stage: there were three channels on the television. Phones were bolted to walls, you had to go to a different neighborhood and pay money to find pornography. The plains might not have been black with buffalo but it was definitely a different time.

So the fact that I don't remember most of my teachers' names isn't really a bad reflection on them, but the few I do remember, I consider to be real paragons of pedagogy, really awesome teachers. Penny Snead is definitely in the top five of that category.

So this reunion of sorts, I think we would have overwhelmed the venue if she did Facebook. Yes, folks, there are still a few holdouts who have resisted the whole social media thing, and she's one of them. Still former students from me (I was a junior her first year at Shawnee Mission North) to the present came out of the woodwork to hoist a few in her honor. I didn't ask if she was thinking about retiring, I'm sure, given that I've been out of high school almost 30 years that she's eligible for a full pension, but when someone is as good at a job as she is, it's generally because they love what they're doing.

I kinda wish I'd gotten pictures of more of the people who turned out. For that matter, I spaced getting a picture of myself with her.

She seemed surprised so many of us turned out, I was surprised it wasn't an even bigger crowd.

The other ones I remember were great too. Frank Robertson (AP Honors English), Karen McGee (Orchestra), Margaret McClatchey (Drama), Ad Ely (Debate/Forensics), and from junior high, Raymond Scoville (Science) and Larry Nivens (Algebra—the only math teacher who ever got me to ace a final). I can remember (but won't name) a couple of teachers because they sucked, but most of the names that stuck with me are real hall of famers. I didn't pick where I grew up, I just got lucky.