I came across your website purely by chance; and I can't help but wonder if Mr. Burrows ever really knew the impact he had on all of our lives. In my case, I am sure that he did not. I graduated from Duluth East in 1981. I went out of state to college -- where I received a very good liberal arts education (Mr. Burrows would have been pleased). I got busy with my life......and didn't think much about the educator whose values and teachings have remained with me for 26 years now. And then he was gone.

My parents still laugh when they remember a parent-teacher conference with Mr. Burrows -- during which he informed them that I was perhaps the most gifted writer he had seen in a number of years. My writing, he said, was elegant. The words were indicative of a vast and sophisticated vocabulary; they flowed from page to page. There was only one problem. At the end of my flowery and flowing literary triumph, he realized that I had said absolutely nothing. He paused.......and he puzzled.....and he told my parents he really didn't know what to do: give me an "F" for content or an "A" for turning in the most remarkable work of B.S. he had ever seen in his life.

I remember sitting in his class.........while sounds from the loud and frenzied stampede of students changing classes echoed throughout the school. Mr. Burrows would turn to toward the door......clearly annoyed by the noise.......and turn back -- shaking his head and muttering "Barbarians" under his breath. We, of course, all snickered -- secure in the knowledge that we were NOT "Barbarians."

I wish, now, that I could thank Mr. Burrows. I wish I could thank him for enriching my life more than I could have possibly appreciated at the time.

In tribute to Mr. Burrows, I would like to share the following poem by William Wordsworth:

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky;
So it was when my life began;
So it is now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

I graduated from college with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. I went on to receive a J.D. degree. I practiced law until the sudden and untimely death of my law partner caused me, in part, to re-examine my priorities and embark upon a mid-life career change. I am now a professional pilot.

I will be forever thankful to Mr. Burrows for being among that special group of people who challenged, influenced and enriched my life. To accept mediocrity is to allow a piece of yourself to die. I can't remember if he said exactly that.....but it sure sounds like him, doesn't it.

Marcia Stolee Zeidler
Duluth East Class of 1981

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