One of the best things that happened to me as a child was being sent to Gilman School. Outside of my parents, Gilman laid the foundation for my life to this point, and the further I get from my time there, the closer I feel to the place. Maybe I just appreciate it more as I get older. So I was really so excited to attend its San Francisco alumni event last week. A few fellow alums and I grabbed dinner after the event. Tim Holley came along. Mr Holley, as he will always be known to me, is on the left. He is also a Gilman alum and has been a teacher there for nearly three decades (he’s not really aging). I also wrote about him last year when I went by the school for a drop-in visit. He taught each of us African American Literature. He coached each of us in baseball or basketball. And he still cares very much about what and how we are doing today. Sitting at dinner, catching one another up on the guys who weren’t present, listening to Mr. Holley’s remembrances of less mature versions of ourselves, I kept thinking about how fortunate we were to have teachers like him. I wish every child had a Mr. Holley at school. And a Gilman.
