GRIFF

My high school typing teacher was one class act. Hubert Griffith was a gentleman's gentleman. Distinguished, articulate, demanding but not overbearing, Griff was simply one of a kind.

Tall, stately, he was a throwback to a different time. He commanded respect and he got it. A very good tennis player, he also sponsored the Color Guard. The high school Color Guard was one of the best in the state, using actual military rifles, which weighed a ton compared to some of the replications, some even made of wood that other schools used.

Respect, honor, dignity--all were espoused by Griff and his Color Guard.

He loved the gruffest of the gruff teachers, Bloody Mary. He actually loved a geometry teacher at the school, but he loved to tease Mrs. Foreman, Bloody Mary. She simply ruled over her domain--high school freshmen. She even scared some of the faculty with her rough exterior. Inside, she was very kind, very loving, and certainly great to teach with.

She had a cat, D.C., for damned cat, but she loved it. Griff would tease her with cat stories. A professed cat hater (he wasn't), he'd tease Mary in the Teachers' Lounge about finding the cutest little kitten on his front porch. As he walked over to help the feline, he couldn't help himself, and kicked it all the way across the porch and off the steps.

Mary would howl, Griff would laugh. On-lookers didn't know what to do. That's the way it was back then, and I miss the comraderie.