A Long-Ago, but Precious Kindness

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."
~ Henry Adams

One of my dearest friends, a very bright attorney, recently shared with me that he did not learn to read until 2nd Grade.  He said that somehow no one had noticed that he could not read until a nun at his new school realized it.  Sister T pulled him out of class every day and little by little taught him how to read.  She would use flash cards and bake him brownies as reward for his progress.  By 6th Grade, he was reading more than 100 books each year and he has not stopped reading since.  I remarked that without Sister T's help, he probably would not have gone to law school.  "Law school?" he said, "I probably would not have gone to college."  He said that she made a critical difference in his life because not only did he learn to read and eventually choose a career that required being a good reader, but also he loves to read and has very high reading comprehension.  Although this kindness took place more than 40 years ago, he still remembers the nun's name and the tremendous impact that she made.  My friend says that other than his family, Sister T has had the biggest influence on his life.