Ithaca Mafia.

Ninth grade.  You're fourteen years old.

You choose a class -- an elective, on a whim.  Could be fun.  And if not, no big deal.  Like I said before: you're fourteen.  It's not like this class is going to completely alter the trajectory of your life.

And yet, here we are.

Pat Kautter had innumerable powers, but this might've been her greatest -- to kindle the unexpected within her students.  To somehow, amidst the throes of adolescence, create a belief in yourself (and not in a treacly, cloying way, either).  Pat nurtured.  She challenged.  She was gracious and thoughtful.  Above all, she saw (and treated) you as a person -- not a kid -- before most of us had any inkling of who we really were.  Then, Pat helped to show us who we could become.

Can't begin to fathom how many lives she shaped for the better.  Countless.  Each, with individual stories on how Mrs. Kautter came into our worlds.  And now, painfully, all sharing the same story on how she left.  

Godspeed, Pat.  

Bill Callahan (aka “Smog”) is finally on Spotify, so I fashioned an introductory mixtape to his music for those who are inclined to listen.  He’s somethin’ special.