Andy Lang was One of a Kind

 

Andy Lang was One of a Kind

Andy Lang was an excellent middle school math teacher. He certainly knew math, and he knew how to teach it, but he also created an environment in which his students were loved and encouraged. Andy took his profession seriously, but not overly so, for he loved and enjoyed life. Andy almost always had a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face. In other words, he was one of those special teachers that students never forget. (Fortunately, our school was blessed with several such teachers.)

Andy loved food, especially candy bars, potato chips, cookies, and, of course, his beloved Pepsi. One day, he walked into the teachers' lunchroom, only to discover a tray of food on the table.

“Whose food is that?” he asked. I told him that Miss X was about to eat when she was summoned to take a telephone call. “That would be a shame if the food spoiled,” Andy replied before leaving the room.

About ten minutes later, Andy reappeared. “Still not back?” he asked. “If she's gone much longer, that meal will be ruined.” Then he departed once again.

Five minutes later, Andy reentered the lunchroom. “I've never been one to waste food,” he said before devouring everything on the tray. Always considerate, Andy then took the empty tray back to the cafeteria.

A few minutes later, Miss X entered the room and went ballistic: “Where is my food? Did you hide it?”

“No, Andy didn't want it to spoil, so he ate it!” I responded. Never before had I seen her so angry. “Wait until I get my hands on him!” she bellowed.

Andy, always the gentleman, bought Miss X another lunch. He was one of the least selfish people I've ever met; he simply ate her lunch because he could not stand the thought of good food going to waste.

My wife, who is a wonderful cook, often gave me homemade cookies and slices of cake or pie to take to Andy. He was always thankful for any goodies.

Once, I told my students I was going to give them a math test just to see how they were doing. “You have ten candy bars. You eat two of them before giving the rest to Mr. Lang to keep for you until the end of the school day. At the end of the day, how many candy bars would you have left?”

All the students confidently replied, “Eight.” They were surprised when I said that was an incorrect answer. A few even worked out the problem with pencil and paper and got the same answer.

Once I explained the situation, knowing Mr. Lang's love of sweets, they agreed that the answer was zero. He would have eaten those candy bars, but then he would have bought twice as many to give back to the kids.

Although Andy ate so many sweets, he never put on extra pounds. One of our other teachers, Bill Williamson, was an outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish. Likewise, Andy loved the great outdoors, but much of his outdoor time was spent at work. Those chores gave him pleasure and kept him in shape.

When it came to meetings, Andy was my hero. Our school had a system of teaming that required numerous meetings. I was told that the year before I arrived, the principal had called for an after-school meeting. After the teachers settled in, the principal told them the purpose of the meeting was to see if they needed a meeting!

Anyway, if a meeting went on too long, Andy began to feel the need to rest. Somehow, someway, with his eyes closed, he was able to take a nap without flinching or salivating onto his face and shirt. I have no idea how Andy developed these skills, but I certainly admired his abilities.

I am thankful to have worked with and become friends with Andy Lang. He was an excellent teacher but even a better human being. He made this little section of the Earth a better place. We will never forget you, Andy. Rest in peace.