I met my classmate Judy at LaGuardia on Thursday, Oct. 2, so we could begin our 50th Manhasset High School reunion weekend. Judy and I had met on the first day of kindergarten at Munsey Park Elementary. Our beloved teacher, Mrs. Doukas, told us that we would share the same cubby where we would hang […]
A couple years ago, I reconnected with four former students, now adults, who had been sophomores in my high school English class. Two of those students, Donna and Mai, invited my husband and me for dinner. To my surprise, Heather and Kristi also showed up. “Mrs. Barnoski, we are having a reunion tonight,” Heather announced. […]
I lined up to board a plane in Seattle when a security agent reached for my husband’s ticket and read it. She said, “Barnoski?” Then she swiveled her head, finding me as her eyes filled with tears. “Mrs. Barnoski, I was one of your students in high school!” I recognized Andrea right away; it was […]
Recently my doctor called to tell me the good news; I have the bones of a seventy-year old woman. I am sixty. I’ve had it! All these years, I have led the good life. I have eaten correctly, exercised several times a week, and been in a monogamous, loving relationship. Clearly something is wrong—it’s time […]
Each of us remembers how our day began on September 11, 2001. My friend Carol who slept restlessly that morning, switched on her TV to see the World Trade Center on fire. She called. I turned on the news as the announcer tried to sort out what was happening. I watched the second plane hit […]
I have been a patient in a hospital several times. Fortunately, my parents passed down a sense of humor. After waking up after major surgery, one part of me is thinking, “Ye Gads, this hurts!” The other part is amused wondering why a visitor I barely know is sitting on my bed spouting on about […]
I was eating pizza recently at a local restaurant when a hand shot out and grabbed my arm. I looked into the face of a middle-aged woman who said, “Mrs. Barnoski, I am sorry to bother you, but I promised myself that if I ever saw you, I would stop and tell you about my […]
It is disturbing to read about the employee who was trampled to death at Wal-Mart while people scrambled for holiday bargains. In the same issue of The Olympian, I learned that shoppers lined up at stores, even overnight, to be the first to grab a flat-screen TV. Both are examples of the importance many Americans […]
Recently I was driving to a store. As I turned my car, I drifted over to the lane I wanted to be in instead of the one I was supposed to be in. Suddenly, I noticed a large black truck with tinted window following too closely behind me. I arrived at the parking lot of […]
As summer hits the Northwest, wedding and party season is revving up. You will receive invitations from your friends, family and professional acquaintances asking you to be part of their special events. At the bottom of the invitation, there will be an R.S.V.P. with a phone number or enclosed card that is stamped ready to […]
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I have had the pleasure and honor of getting to know 8,000 teenagers. For the last 32 years, I have awakened each day certain that when I went to work, I had the opportunity to change someone’s life for the better. I am a high school English teacher. Inspiring honors students to love literature and […]
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I idolize teenage girls. It’s not because they have gorgeous figures or because they are intelligent and lively. It’s not because they have perfect skin or titter when someone accuses them of being older. It’s because they manage to survive, toting teensy-weensy purses. Just my wallet wouldn’t fit in one of those tiny contraptions. I […]
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Recently I was passing through a line at a clothes store, when a teenage boy ran in to turn in a wallet he had found on the ground by a car. When he walked out, the cashier remarked to me how surprised she was that he had turned it in as “all teenagers steal.” I […]
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In 1968 when I was a senior in high school, the guidance counselor called me into his office to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I went blank. Because I was female, he told me my options were limited: I could be a nurse, a secretary, or a teacher. I […]
