My mother always said, “behave yourself wherever you are, you never know who might know you!”

Even on the Internet!

Unfortunately, today all of our information is obtainable with the click of a finger, and while we may be guilty of ranting against this invasion of our privacy, in every bad situation there is always a bit of a silver lining.

Today, I was taken completely by surprise when I received an email from a former student inquiring whether I might be a teacher that he remembered from the past.

I assume he found me while browsing on the Internet.

As it turns out, I did teach all three of the boys in this family in the late ’50s. My employment was as a 6th grade teacher in a Catholic school in which teachers and parents developed a relationship and were on the same page in regard the children’s lives, inside and outside the classroom.

All three of these particular boys were very bright and I taught them in consecutive years. During that time the family suffered the loss of their mom, and I was very privileged to be invited to sit with her in the last days of her illness.

Needless to say, this contact out of the blue was not only extremely surprising, but heartwarming. Memories of the many students in the past flooded over me, and I was humbled to think that after all these years I was remembered by some. What a blessing!

Elderly people in our society today are often overlooked and as a part of that population there are times when one can feel invisible.

Today, I felt very visible, and it made my day!