So last night I went to the Christmas concert put on by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with Chris and a few friends. It was crazy crowded and was a difficult just trying to stay with our group- I felt like a family of elephants hanging on to the coat tails in front of me- the four of us meandering through the sea of faces. Its just funny to me that out of that sea of faces, hair, hats, scarfs, being 'whafted' by too much perfume and my toes being stepped on during our journey to balcony 6, I was able to spot something glorious.
Out of no where- there she was. Or should I say, there it was. The all too familiar beehive-do of our cherished high school choral instructor, Mrs. Sylvester! I knew it was her even before I saw her face! And I knew it was her just from glancing at her from the back! The hair gave it away. And I should say that her lovely bufont is no longer the silvery blond that we remember, oh no. Mrs. Sylvester now sports a dark brunette do, which I should say is quite becoming on her!
The exchange went like this:
Me: Gasp! I know that lady! "Mrs. Sylvester!"
Mrs. Sylvester: Looking my way and smiling awkwardly, "I have to keep moving!"
Me: "OK, its good to see you!"
And then she was gone. So mysterious. That lady is a mystery.
I spent the majority of the concert thinking about her and all the wonderful things I learned during my days spent under her tutelage. (A vocab word I learned in her AP English class!) Man she expected SO much from us! I hope there are teachers out there like her still.
Does anyone know where she ended up moving to? Is she retired? Does she still create musical professionals out of disheveled, troubled high school students? If I sent out Christmas cards, which I tend to do every so often, I think I would send her one. But alas, she is lost again. I am glad I got just a glimpse of her last night; I wonder if she even remembered who I was.
I love Mrs. Sylvester so crazy much--she gave us all something to work for and be proud of ourselves for--I also find her a great mystery--but I do know that she moved to Grantsville--last I heard anyway.
ReplyDeleteMrs Sylvester is a brunette?!? She is the most mysterious woman out there, and yet I find myself just wanting to make her proud of me! I think my dad told me she lives in Salt Lake now, and Niki finally got married so maybe she is a grandma by now! She is pretty much the best teacher that ever taught at SS-and probably one of the hardest teachers we ever had!
ReplyDeleteDue to my lack of musical skills, I only had Ms. Sylverster for one class, a ACT prep class. There was nothing else to take, but it did improve my score. Like Amanda said, I know at one point she lived in Grantsville and taught school but that was around 5 years ago so who knows where this mysterious woman could be now.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you saw her, and a BRUNETTE!?! Wow, I too know she moved to Grantsville and taught English, but not music. However, I haven't heard anything for a few years now. I'm wondering if I couldn't find something out from Mrs. Page's family?...I'll let you know if I do.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome you saw her! She was definitely someone who affected my life in high school. I wonder if she truly knows how many of us she helped! Her classes were truly to only ones I can say I ever looked forward to - and also that I ever really learned anything in that has helped me in my life. I love the lady - she randomly shows up in our parents ward when the pages have something going on so who knows?
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me - Holly do you remember when we did the 12 days of Christmas for her? Looking back we were such brown nosers - but we never told her it was us. But I SWEAR she knew it was us. I hope she is happy wherever she is.
I had her for AP English. I loved her. I wish I could take it again because I learned so much and I feel like I have lost that in the last 10 years. I have thought many times about what exactly it was that made her such an amazing teacher, and I can't put my finger on it. But BEST teacher I have ever had. Hands down. This may just be a crazy legend, but I did hear once that she stabbed someone with a rat tail comb in the ear because she thought they were going to attack her. I love that story... I hope she's doing well, and I think someone should find her and tell her how great we thought she was!
ReplyDeleteI remember the legend as this: She is a black belt in Karate or some martial art and broke some guys arm or nose when he tapped her on her shoulder to get her attention.
ReplyDeleteHmm, where can we get the real story?