Rest in Peace...

Yesterday, Ms Annette Cooper died of the cancer she's been battling for a year or so now.

It's quite chilling, as I knew her well enough...but at the same time not at all. I think the worst thing about this is when I heard she died I was very sad, very sorrowful for her family, but...I didn't have anything I could think about her.

Besides snide remarks, stories of annoyance, and cruel jokes I'd heard about her from her students, I don't know much about Ms Cooper. I know that she played a woodwind, that she taught Band, and that she really loved "The Year Without a Santa Claus". Everything else I know is practically gossip.

It really hit me, when I realized that I would suck at giving her eulogy, that her entire life was wasted before my eyes. To me, she is nothing but a bad band teacher...I think I may have only heard one or two good stories. And trust me, I'm not telling you all this in a sick version of "Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead". I'm telling you this because I've made a decision.

Ms Cooper probably knew some good jokes, had some beautiful moments of musical power, and lived a good life. She probably shared some very good experiances with her students and friends and family. But I don't know any of these, because her students decided to put her as "Ms Cooper, the evil band teacher extrodonaire" and nothing else. I've realized why gossip sucks so much...not just because it hurts if you get caught and makes relationships strained and awkward, but because that person is ruined in the listener's ears and eyes forever. Ms Cooper has died and I don't know one single good thing to say about her because her students didn't share them.

Celebrate the good things. Rejoice in even and especially your enemy's accomplishments. And listen to Thumper- If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. No one is completely bad and we shouldn't try and paint them that way, ever.

Because then, when they're gone, there's no reason for them to stay in the hearts they touched. They get flushed out and ignored. And no one wants that.

I'm sorry if that's difficult to read or understand, but epiphanies are like that.
Rest in Peace, Ms Cooper. I wish I knew you better than I did. I'll be praying for you and your family.