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Fri | March 03, 2006

Mr. Elliott

In the story Choristers, a man rehearses and rehearses his choir and then this other guy doesn't even care. In In the Graveyard, an actor remembers someone he hated. He says you remember your enemies best.

After reading these stories I thought of Mr. Elliott, my former music teacher, for the first time in a long while. He was memorable because he was always angry. It gave me a sense of his personality. I don't remember much, or don't think I understood much, of any of the other teachers. I didn't understand Mr. Elliott either, beyond understanding that he was angry. Then one year, I think it was eighth grade, he suddenly wasn't ever angry anymore. He was suddenly pleasant all the time. And then we went to high school and didn't really see him anymore.

I wonder if others disliked him. I wasn't in the habit of questioning or evaluating teachers back then so it never occurred to me to dislike him. Though then again, I did have teachers I disliked, in high school, so maybe it did occur to me. I think I didn't dislike Mr. Elliott because he never yelled at me. He yelled at the brass section in the back for talking. Like, at the top of his voice.

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