Mrs. Starkey - “I Thought You Played Beautifully”

I’ve played violin for pretty much as long as I can remember.  Not a prodigy by any stretch of the imagination, I was not completely untalented.

Mrs. Starkey was my fifth and sixth grade science teacher and it was common knowledge among the girls in my classes that she was just plain cool.  She was young and pretty and had a cool perm (this was still the early 90’s mind you) and wore cool clothes.  She had a ton of energy and invested every bit of it into getting us to learn.  She organized field trips and science fairs.  She lectured with intensity and passion.  And she was fun. 

We had a talent show involving the entire school one year.  I audtioned to be in it with a little violin solo I was playing at the time and I got a spot.  The day of the talent show came, and I still remember the panic that came over me as I looked out into that sea of teachers, students, and parents.  I started playing, and then just got completely lost, had a huge memory slip.  I managed to find my way back, but in my mind, too much damage had been done.  The performance was a failure. 

I slumped back into my seat next to my parents after the debacle, fighting back tears.  And then Mrs. Starkey came up so me and gave me an enormous hug.  “Sweetie, you did so wel!,” she cried.  “No,” I said. “No, I messed up.”

“Well I certainly couldn’t tell.  I thought it was just beautiful.” To this day, I still remember her for that (and many other things).  She was truly an amazing woman.