Hatzel is world-famous

Ok, maybe not WORLD-famous, but South Carolina-famous. Yeah, my Hatzel, yearbook slave and master of all things Nica and connoisseur of Fritanga.

Few students make an impact on their teachers. Our fragile little egos think that we are the ones that are changing their lives. Anybody in this field knows, whether publicly or privately, that every once in a while we learn quite a bit from some students.

Those lessons can be humbling, too. In my case, I had the insanity of accepting a teaching positon in a subject for which my knowledge was negligible. Heck, what am I saying? I knew NOTHING about yearbook. It was the greatest fake of all time. Had it not been for Hatzel, and his sidekick Helix, who knows what would have happened? Certainly, instead of a lovely book, I would have put out a coloring book and been ridden out of town on a rail.

Possibly tarred and feathered.

I'd rather not contemplate the circumstances surrounding my lynching by 5,000 students.

Anyway, Hatzel saved my life, saved my sanity, saved my job. All that for the price of feeding him every once in a while. Oh, and a ride home in the Vomit-Mobile.

Well, my precious Hatzel has grown up and become a real-life journalist. How about that? It turns out he really knew what he was talking about between mouthfuls of carne asada and queso frito.

I threatened to put up a picture of him as a geeky high schooler. I could let him believe that I respect him too much to do that. After all, anybody doing a search on him would turn up this blog. I'll let him believe it, too. That is, until I really do find his senior picture...I know it's around here in a box somewhere.

Meanwhile, here's a link to one of his spots.