Thank You Ms. Ely

Rob Martin was formerly a wildlife biologist and an anatomy professor at Dyersburg State.

I haven’t written this column in a while. I have used whatever excuses I had to – I was too busy with other things, I had “writers block”, etc. But in the meanwhile, I have been inspired several times by the writings of my two friends, Dr. William Northcutt and Clayton Hayes, both regular columnists here. I always enjoy their columns and they bring bright spots to our local paper. So I decided I’d better get busy and do my bit as well.

In May, I ended up in the Emergency Room at Dyersburg Medical Center for abdominal pain before being admitted to the hospital. I recovered quickly and was released three days later. Some follow-up was required but all is well.

Unexpectedly, I enjoyed my three days and nights in the Dyersburg hospital. Really you say? Yes, I did. Other than blood-drawing needles in the middle of the night that is, and being tethered to the IV for seventy-two hours (even during the night when I needed to go to the bathroom) it was quite a pleasant experience.

From my arrival at the ER on Day 1, I began to encounter former students who I had taught at some point at Dyersburg State. Having retired four years ago, I had forgotten how many of them were still working in Dyersburg - including the ER doctor, plus many of the nurses and aides who provided my care. It was heartwarming to see so many familiar faces using some of the knowledge I had labored to impart to them a few years before. Building successful careers in health care. The ER had started to transfer me to Jackson that first day, but after all was said and done, I was very glad to have ended up in Dyersburg. And the care I received was excellent.

Fast forward a few months. I have a subscription to The Shreveport Times. The daily newspaper from my hometown in north Louisiana. I’m still a Louisiana boy at heart and it gives me some awareness of what is going on there.

So one day I’m flipping pages, looking through the parts of the paper that are still relevant to me. Local news, sports, and human-interest stories. And the obituaries. Who has died and their life story. And there it was. One of my Senior high school teachers, Ms. Diana Ely.

Obituaries can catch you off guard sometimes. All of a sudden there is this writeup about someone you haven’t thought about in decades, and might never have thought of again. And yet, there is the story of “what happened to them”. And now they are gone. And suddenly you wish you had seen them again. That maybe there was something you wish you might have said to them if you had a chance.

Ms. Ely taught us English literature at Jesuit High School in Shreveport. Unfortunately, I was not all that interested in studying or English literature at the time. I never had connected that much with Ms. Ely on a personal level.

But what I do remember about her is that she made us write. Lots of writing assignments. Where she required and encouraged us to do creative writing. Short stories and poetry. She encouraged us to write things for the school paper so that we could see our stuff published. And I discovered in Ms. Ely’s class that she thought I could write. And that I could write things that people liked to read. In fact, after seeing her obituary I remembered a specific compliment she gave me so many years ago about an article I had written for the school paper.

And now all these years later, I’m realizing again how writing has been a part of my career that has always been strong. I wrote wildlife management plans and environmental documents when I worked as a wildlife biologist. Now I enjoy writing for the Gazette, and I have a couple of books on my computer that I am determined to publish in the near future.

Ms. Ely spent her life teaching literature and directing high school plays and there were many students who had been impacted by her influence over the years (I gleaned this from the obituary). I was one of the many. And I’m thankful to have been one of the many. Thinking back – I always had the ability to write but I don’t think I ever realized it until Ms. Ely’s class.

So, teachers and fellow educators – always remember and never forget – your efforts, including your classroom instruction, your words spoken in a school hallway, and even just an encouraging comment to a student later in life – often make all the difference in a gift recognized or not. A career field pursued or not. A young person’s ability to recognize a gift, and even more to believe in their own ability to use a gift. Your work is important and your influence can last for generations. Your words are important and often are golden keys to open doors, setting people in motion.

Thank you to every teacher and educator for what you do every day. And thank you, Ms. Diana Ely.