On June 24, we packed up the moving van with Matthew in Lake Village, Arkansas, saying goodbye to his two years of teaching with Teach for America. It was uncertain if it really was goodbye for Matthew, since there were many people in town urging him to come back for the fall. The verdict is still out, but even so, it was time to look back on the whole experience, its ups and downs and all that it had meant to him. As the saying goes, Matthew had learned as much from his students as his students had learned from him. For Mark and me, it was an education as well. In our visits, we had come to appreciate the simple beauty of that impoverished town, and the kindnesses of the people there. And we certainly had come to take pride in Matthew’s dedication to his students, under some tough conditions. Without a doubt, it’s an experience he will long remember. Mark and I will remember, too, the side trips to towns near Lake Village: Greenville (Doe’s Eat Place and Delta Brewing Co.) Clarksdale (Ground Zero and the Delta Blues Museum), Indianola (B.B. King Museum), and of course, Faulkner’s home in Oxford, all in Mississippi. In Little Rock, we’ll never forget visiting Central High of the Little Rock Nine and the Clinton Library. And in Bentonville, the Walmart Museum and beautiful Crystal Bridges. Most of all, we’ll treasure the days visiting Matthew, staying in our home away from home in Southshore Cottages. Hello, goodbye, Lake Village.
P.S. The photos at the end were taken at Machu Picchu in March, during a service field trip with Matthew and his fellow teachers and their students. The music below is one of Stephen’s songs, “The Andes.”
