There are precious few people in my life that I can say I've known for forty years. They would be pretty much limited to family, and to Jane Griffin.

Mrs. Griffin was my language arts teacher in 7th and 8th grades in Wichita Falls, Texas. More than that, she was and is still my friend. She taught me much more than reading and spelling, although I can trace my love of both to her influence; she taught me and still teaches me much about life and love and faith. When I left her classroom in 1968, I promised her that I would never lose touch with her, and I've been honored to keep that promise.

I don't get to see Jane very often. We exchange cards and letters a few times a year and talk on the phone occasionally, but I hadn't seen her in five years. So today, CJ and I got in the car and drove north to Wichita Falls and spent a few hours with Jane and her lovely daughter Cheryl. There are no words to describe the privilege of getting to visit with them once again and share yet another of my daughters with them. Having lived a very transient life, with perhaps twenty moves in these forty years, there is something very moving and soul-nourishing about reaching back through the years and touching someone who touched me so long ago...who held my hand through one of the most difficult periods of my life and gave me some of the tools for living that I still employ today. I count her among the sweetest blessings I possess...