11. Tom S

When I worked at a public school teaching Spanish I had a co-worker (and friend) whose door had a small black and white image of a runner pasted on it. Beneath this picture was a quote that said something like, "Whatever you do, do it with all of the passion you possess." I found myself focusing on this quote countless times as I walked into his room to ask a piece of advice, pitch a new idea, or just share friendly banter. It caught my eye so often because, unlike many quotes plastered on doors or bumpers or Facebook profiles, Tom really lives this as far as I can tell.

There was a day early in December when I thought I was the last to leave work. My head was throbbing from the replayed events of the day rolling like an old-fashioned movie reel, I was lonely beneath the awful fluorescent lights that magnified my smallness, and burdened by the constant nag that I could have done more today, I could have done better. When I saw his door still ajar on my way out, I was compelled to seek out some friendly words before finally heading home.

I walked in to Tom standing slightly pitched forward and head bent in concentration over his projector. Curious, I moved next to him and looked down. I saw the songs we had been writing, Spanish vocabulary put to the lines and rhythms of American Christmas carols. Thinking to myself that this seemed a petty reason to stay after hours on a Friday, I asked him what he was about.

"This line doesn't quite work. I'm trying to make it so that it flows better."

Let me dispel your assumptions that Tom is an accomplished musician and lyricist. He is none of the above, and listening to him sing is comical at best. He is a soccer player, runner, and seasoned traveler. Music is nowhere in his repertoire, yet there he was giving his last bit of energy and brow furrowing to the perfection of homespun Christmas canciones.

I myself had filed our hastily written songs away in my Microsoft Word folder, only preparing to bring them out on the day they were to be introduced to students. In my own mind we had spent plenty of time working on them; perfection was a non-necessity.

Tom, however, does not operate this way. If he is going to taste wine he will hike himself out to Napa. If he is going to teach his students culture he will spend every last dime on travel and the perspective it affords. As a soccer coach he is a sweaty participant, as a runner ignorant of pain, as a song-writer he is, if nothing else, precise.

As a new teacher there were many days when I had to reach beyond myself to grasp that illusive ghost called satisfaction. There were many more days when I looked across the hall and through the brightly lit door to find inspiration.