Act 23

Do you remember, when you were a kid, and you'd see a row of newspaper boxes?  You'd run over and check all the change receptacle to see if anyone left their change?

Do you remember doing the same thing at vending machines?  Only you'd check both the change receptacle AND the drop area to see if anyone forgot to grab their goodies?

You might not have done that, but I did.  Hit the jackpot once, too, when I found like $3.00 in quarters in a row of newspaper boxes.  It was awesome!

For this 23rd act, I decided to give someone a smile, the kind that lit me up when I found that jackpot of quarters.  I went to the first vending machine I found, slid my dollar in, and entered the numbers for peanut m&ms (my favorite!)  And then I left them sitting there.  In the bottom of the drop area.  Waiting for the next person to come along and smile as they find their freebie.

And this act is for the teacher that really made me look at my classroom differently that Monday when I returned to school.  27 year old Victoria Soto hid her students in closets and cabinets to save their lives, in exchange for her own.  When I walked back into my classroom that Monday morning, I looked for where I could do the same if need be, where I could hide a student or two or 24.

Victoria was working her dream job as a teacher, and loved her students in room 10.  She was also working toward her Master's Degree in special education.  Outside of teaching she enjoyed being with her family, and was active in her church.  Another life cut short, she will be remembered as a hero, one who did something no education class could ever prepare you to do.