Does this little fellow understand how unique he is — the canal boat cat with a mustache? I suspect it’s an identity he’ll die with.

Like you, I’ve been many things, some briefly, a teenage ice cream scooper, and others permanently: a son, father, partner, and teacher, even in retirement.

Last night, this former teacher met a former student after a twenty-five-year lapse. Ujjwal reminded me that his parents, traveling from Nepal for their son’s graduation, had given me a thank-you gift that sat on my office shelf among other offerings.

It was a poignant reconnection that happened by chance in a restaurant and lasted around fifteen minutes.

Befitting my 77 years, it took me a moment or two to recall Ujjwal’s qualities as a student in the one class he took from me. Interestingly, he’s now a professor.

Like the cat, I’m still a teacher, full stop.

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