In a world before “screen time” and ubiquitous internet were the moral panics of the day (fear mongering was content with stranger danger, cable TV, Dungeons & Dragons, and heavy metal), I was a grade five student at Chebucto Heights Elementary school. I remember “kite day” and skipping rope being big deals, eating hard-ass breadsticks & cookies with our state-sponsored cow’s milk, and the lure of hanging out in the nearby woods, rock piles, and apartment building parking lots. Mostly innocent times but I was able to buy cigarettes at the corner store.

I was able to empathize with fish in Odele Lake on an Apple II (killer app for VR!?!) and go on fantastical adventures with tricksy hobbbitses thanks to one of my most memorable and patient teachers, Mrs Boyd. I don’t think I understood how lucky I was at the time—I had been separated from some friends—but she was a exceptionally caring and able to inspire many of us to learn and share and be braver, bolder people. I’m foggy on the details, but recall *not* getting in trouble after telling a classmate they were supposed to be sucking a lemon when they clearly weren’t listening to her instructions.

I’m lucky and privledged to have had a lot great teachers and role models to look-up to over the years, but I trace a lot to being a student of Mrs Boyd. I continue to take my curiosity and appreciation of education, the arts, and (surprise!) technology with me today. If only there had been some additional financial insight, I would have bought some of those cheap stonks.

Rest in Peace Reta Edith (McKay) Boyd [17/07/1935-04/03/2022]