I had a very pleasant surprise today. My high school art teacher, Mr. John Robak, contacted me out of the blue. Friends of his had stumbled upon this site and forwarded the address on to him.

I can't get over how often that kind of thing happens. I do nothing to promote this site, and rarely update it, and still people stumble across it and pass it along. Gotta love the Web.

Anyway, it was so great to hear from him and it got me thinking about how we all influence one another in countless ways that are impossible to imagine at the time. In the case of Mr. Robak's impact on my life, it's fairly easy to see.

Me and every other girl in his class had an enormous crush on him. I swear that is half the reason I went to art school, right there. But the other half has everything to do with what an inspiring teacher he was. He was so into the subject matter and had such a dynamic and engaging way of teaching. (I will remember what "controposto" means until the day I die due to his jumping up on a desk once to demonstrate it!)

And I worked harder in his classes than in all my other classes combined. I really wanted to do a good job. His respect meant a great deal to me because I had such enormous respect for him. He made me think about myself in different ways. If it weren't for him, I can't say that I would have ever gone to college at all. He did wonders for my self image and encouraged me to put together a portfolio and start applying to art schools.

If he hadn't done so, it's likely that I never would have moved to Philadelphia to attend the Art Institute. And if that hadn't happened, I never would have met my closest friends including my college room mate, Nancy. And she never would have met her husband, Zane because they met at an office happy hour of mine. I wouldn't work where I do, know the people I know, or do what I do for a living if it hadn't been for John Robak.

We think of our lives as being so solid - so definite. But it's absolute chaos, out here. We have no real way of knowing the impact we have on other people. The simplest relationships can have far-reaching implications that we could never have guessed at the time.

It reminds me of It's A Wonderful Life. What would the world be like if John Robak had never been born? Would Somersworth, New Hampshire have become Pottersville? Probably not. But still, I shudder to think about it because I have no idea where I would be.

All I know is that the world is definitely a better place with people like Mr. Robak in it, and I've very grateful that our paths crossed years ago.