 |
 |
 |
| April 1982. Prince George's Community College, Maryland. August 11, 2005 My college boyfriend & I. He was killed in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. |
| This page is dedicated to my college math teacher, Ms. B |
| When I was studying at Prince George's Community College (PGCC) in Largo, Maryland. I took a math class (Calculus I) from Ms. B in the spring semester of 1982. She was one of the best teachers I have ever had. I learned a lot of math from her. She looked athletic and masculine, wearing casual attire such as jeans and shirts instead of blouses and skirts. Since she wore no makeup or jewelry, her projected image was not as feminine as it could have been. Although she was my ideal teacher, many students found her intimidating, mostly because she rarely smiled, was critical, and her exams were tough. But for me, the tougher she was, the more I found her intriguing. I looked forward to coming to her class every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I tried to impress her by doing well. I did more homework problems than she assigned, and I read the chapters before coming to her lectures. As a result, I aced every single exam. At the end of the semester, I got a solid A. I was proud and I knew she was too because there was only a small percentage of students who could earn an A from her. While I was still at PGCC, I would occasionally stop by her office to chat with her even though she no longer taught me. I liked to talk to her about other aspects of life. She said that science and art went hand in hand. I believe that is true because I love both. I soon learned that behind that frigid shell, there was a warm and tender heart. I was comfortable with confiding in her. I told her about my boyfriend, my part-time jobs, and things that I normally would not tell my parents. Whenever I saw her, I felt close to her. Sometimes I fantasized myself about being her daughter, because she was the kind of mother I was longing for--educated, rational, and understanding. I was curious as to where she lived and what she did besides teaching. She said she had a townhouse in Greenbelt, Maryland, and she did square dancing on weekends. I thought, what a good life she had. I wish I could dance on the same floor with her, but my wish was too far-fetched. My life was really tough at that time because I was new to this country and was totally independent from my parents. I relied on working multiple part-time jobs to put myself through school full-time. I barely made ends meet each month. 'Dancing' was too luxurious. If I had an extra hour, I would have to utilize it to make money, study, or sleep. There were times when I felt tired of the real world, seeing her could give me extra strength because I wanted to be as successful as she. In the summer of 1982, I moved to College Park, Maryland. My boyfriend and I liked to explore the vicinity and neighboring cities. We went shopping at K-mart on a Saturday afternoon in Greenbelt, and as we were ready to check out, I saw Ms. B from a distance. She was standing in a line to check out at a different register. She saw me too, and she smiled at me. After transferring to the University of Maryland, I came back to visit PGCC in June 1984. I stopped by her office but she was not there. In the winter of 1987, I ran into Ms. B at Wells Ice Skating Rink in College Park. She now had a toddler who was taking skating lessons. I was happy to see her again. We talked while she was trying to put skates on her child. She said she still lived in Greenbelt. I told her I had gotten my B.S. degree in December 1985, and was working at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Our conversation did not last long because she was having a difficult time putting skates on that kid. He kept kicking and screaming; I almost had to jump in to help. Not wanting to distract her, I went to practice on the ice. That was the last time I saw her until 18 years later, i.e. 23 years since I took her class. Although I thought about Ms. B from time to time, I did not have the urge to find her simply because I had a busy and transient life. The images of Ms. B gradually receded into the background. My recent re-uniting with Ms. B was a miracle. On June 24, 2005, an old friend of mine was supposed to come to my house for dinner, but he emailed me that day that his grandmother was depressed, and that he needed to be with her, he asked if we could postpone the dinner. At first, I was disappointed because I was so looking forward to seeing him after losing contact for six and a half years. But at the same time I totally understood his situation. "I am sorry. What are you going to do then?" he called and apologized. "You ought to be with your grandma, I understand." We decided to postpone the dinner until 2 days later. So I executed plan B, which was going to contra-square dancing at Glen Echo Park. As I left my house, I looked at the clear blue sky, thinking that actually it was not a bad idea to go dancing. I am looking forward to getting back to dancing at Glen Echo again this summer anyway. The last time I went to Glen Echo was one week ago, and the previous time was 11 years ago! I believe I am going to have a great time tonight. I arrived a little early to put on my dancing shoes. After I had done putting on one shoe, and as I raised my head to look straight, I saw a person in a red dress walking by the same area where I was sitting, less than 10 feet away. Before she took another step, I shouted: "Ms. B." She located the source of the voice and looked at me incomprehensively. Although she could not recognize me, I was sure she was my college math teacher. I quickly stood up and hopped closer, and identified myself: "Ms. B, I was your student. You used to teach at Prince George's Community College. You were my math teacher." Her face lit up and she smiled. Nevertheless, she could not remember who I was. Of course, how could she remember, it's been more than 22 years since I took the class. She came to sit down next to me. I started telling her what I remembered at PGCC. The more I talked, the more the old memories flashed back. How wonderful and how exciting! Time does really fly. She didn't change much, except that some of her hair turned gray. Although she looked older and heavier, she looked a lot more feminine now. She walks slower, talks slower, and her voice is softer too. She now has a different hairstyle--short and curly. Overall, she looks nice. I was really happy to run into her at a different stage of my life. No matter how much I refreshed her memory, she absolutely did not remember a thing. Nevertheless, she was infected by my exhilaration. She started telling her friends about our reunion. Running into her had changed the tone of the rest of the night. For every dance, I purposely stood in the same line as she did so that we could bump into each other as the line progressed. During break time, I turned down every man who wanted to waltz with me so that I could be with Ms. B. She told me she retired one year ago. I admire her for working long and hard to pay off her dues. When will be my turn to retire? I just can't wait to retire. I know this wish is not going to be realized for a long long long time... If ever. For some reason, I feel very close to her now. Maybe because she is kind, humble, considerate, earthy, and understanding. Copyright 2005-2008. Luong Tuy Hoa. All rights reserved. |
| Right click each picture and click 'Refresh Picture with Full Quality' for optimum viewing. |