"Games of Cuts and Bruises," chapter 5 in Hemchand Gossai's, River Crossings

"I, of course, was wrong as I assumed that the brief interlude in which I saw him and where typically he was involved in teaching, was what gave final shape to his life" (74).

I love this portrayal of how a student views the life of his teacher. It's something that I remember from my own youth--when I saw a teacher of mine out in "the real world" I was always shocked to see a husband with them or children, or the fact that teachers need groceries too. It's really a very strange idea, but I think it's universal, this idea that for children--people exist only in the form the children can see. My mother, a teacher at an elementary school, fears ordering an alcoholic drink when she's in public, just in case one of her students comes into the restaurant. I think this is a great example of the kinds of things that most people forget about when they grow older (when they finally understand that teaching is a JOB, not a personality), but that Dr. Gossai has included in his writing.