Goodbye, Miss Barbara

I've always been fascinated with Bob Greene's memories of growing up in the 1950s in all-white, clean-cut Bexley, Ohio. His "Be True To Your School" used his diary of 1964, which covered part of his junior and part of his senior year, and gave those of us who never lived in that era a glimpse at what high-school days were like then, at least in a very comfortable, well-off town in the middle of the nation.

He often, in columns and books, mentions Miss Barbara, his kindergarten teacher. She apparently taught every kid in town and never forgot a name or a face. Even after retiring, she was in the lives of schoolchildren as a crossing guard. When Bob's friend Jack, he of ABCDJ fame, died, she was in the church at the funeral, and reached out and touched Bob's hand.

She died recently, and of course he memorialized her with a touching column.