Our yearly trips to Utah caused my yearn to pen and write about our horse camp outings, cooking under stars at night.

Yet, I didn’t have a clue about the sentence structure rule. I should have listened back when I was young and still in school.

My wife suggested, “Find someone with patience, yet who’s bold.” So, I found an English teacher who was worth her weight in gold!

She’d been retired for decades, but her mind was sharp as glass. Her name was Edythe, and she was a bounty full of class.

The first day of her teaching she made sure I understood constructive guidance wasn’t rude just designed for my own good.

I turned in my first poem and waited for her sound advice. Her new red pencil went to work. I swear she sharpened twice.

She moved my papers to her side and looked me in the eye. Said, “Have you ever taken English? If you did, you didn’t try.”

I knew right then this gal would make a difference in my life. She could slice and dice my poems as if she’d used a skinnin’ knife.

She taught me sentence structure and the need for noun and verb. And where to place the commas and make use of every word.

But most of all she taught me, “Use expression when you write. Use words which spring to life. Some maybe even bite.”

For two whole years my English teacher taught me what she knew. She must have thought this poor cowboy ain’t got the brains to chew.

Well, my English teacher passed away about a week ago. I’ll bet she’s teaching English up in Heaven’s perfect glow.

Will I miss my English teacher now that she has moved back home? No, ‘cuz I feel her presence daily while I pen another poem.

Bryce Angell has lived around horses all his entire life and is a retired registered nurse who still works part time at Ashton Living Center.