The Nectar Trilogy

Yesterday I had a fun experience. I had a chance to give a copy of Pleroma to one of the characters in the book.

In the opening chapters of Pleroma, Lane interacts with his homeroom teacher, Ms. Mitchell. Since the first day of High School she knew Lane was a special kid. He was smart, but he was also scared, nervous, and needed some extra attention. She did a little research and discovered that he had lost his mother a few years earlier, and, while no one could prove it, there was all the evidence of abuse at home. Being the compassionate teacher that she is, Ms. Mitchell took Lane on as her special project and made sure that he received as much motherly attention as the rules would allow her to give.

Well, Ms. Mitchell is not a fictional character. She is alive and well today. She was my teacher in High School. I was not Lane. I had a loving home and incredibly supportive parents, so I did not have the Ms. Mitchell/Lane relationship as depicted in the story.  However, I did have a great mentor/friend relationship with her. I also observed how she treated all her students. I know she had some real life Lane’s in her years of teaching.

Ms. Mitchell is now Mrs. Linda Anderson. Since my days in High School she was married and took over leadership of the IMC at Coon Rapids High School.

After 24 years, it was very cool to be able to place this story in her hands.

Thanks Linda. You will always be “Ms. Mitchell” to me.