Checking In

Little David grew up!

They always grow up. I know that. It's just so much fun to see them when they finally do grow into themselves.

David wasn't really one of my former students. In fact, he actually dodged having me as an English teacher his freshman year when some staffing changes didn't give me every single freshman who attended out school like I had for the previous 5 years.

Instead, he was one of my actors who was so obsessed with theater that I let him join my drama club when he still in 8th grade. He had some connections that helped, as both his mother and grandmother worked for the district. Oh, and it also helped that in a small town where athletics ruled, I wasn't about to turn down one of the few souls who wanted to be on stage.

When I moved to the city, David was bummed out that I wouldn't be there to direct anymore. What would happen to the drama program without the Drama Mama? According to David, his worst fears came true, and the program crashed and burned without anybody to lead it. In fact, he ended up trying to put together some shows on his own with less than a handful of other interest thespians. How I can relate to trying to make something out of nothing on stage with little community support.

The nice thing about being 18 and living in a small town is that you can leave. David moved to Vegas this fall to attend the university, and of course, major in theater. I wasn't there through the rest of his high school days, but I can only imagine how anxious he must have been to leave and find a place to practice his passion.

It's taken months for David and me to meet for coffee. Right before he arrived in the city, he e-mailed me, telling me he was moving here. We've talked on the phone a few times, never finding the right time to go, although the little coffee shop dive where we finally did end up meeting at was less than 10 minutes away for either one of us.

All grown up with stories of our old small town, travels he's made in the last few years, and tales that only come from a college freshman. Eager enthusiasm that only comes from a a young man whose just taken a new path in his life. It was nice seeing how David has turned out, even if he's not finished yet.