Mr. Max Cousins

Not long ago, I read of a high school science teacher and how he has inspired a love for science in his students. The article reminded me of my science teacher when I was a freshman. His name was Max Cousins. Of course, he was Mr. Cousins to the students.

He had a deep love for teaching. When you were in his class, you were always paying attention because he presented the day's lesson in a way that made you not want to miss any part of it.

As well as teaching science, he was also the assistant football coach. Besides instructing the football team in how to play the game, he taught them a lot about life – about accountability, responsibility, helping others.

Mr. Cousins had a way of making students care about learning. Although he encouraged them to pursue their education beyond high school, he said that it did not mean going to college was automatic. That for some students the career they wanted to have may lead to attending a trade school.

Thinking about Mr. Cousins and the impact he had on so many young lives, brought to mind several other memorable people I met along the way.

One of them was a woman named Ethel. She and her husband, Floyd, had a small farm. Their desire to have a family never materialized, so they turned to helping youngsters in any way they could. Floyd and Ethel were close friends of my parents.

We would often spend a Sunday afternoon visiting them. The day usually ended with our having supper with them.

One night, Ethel made pancakes and bacon for supper. Instead of syrup for the pancakes, she put apple butter and peach butter on the table, both of which she had made from the fruit trees on their farm. When I commented on how delicious the peach butter was, she replied that she and her husband didn't have a lot of money, so most of their food came from what they raised -- their garden, fruit trees, chickens, cattle and pigs.

When my mother became ill with hepatitis and could not be admitted to the hospital because the hospital had no quarantine room, Ethel came to our house to take care of my mother. She said the only thing that mattered to her was a friend needed help and she could provide it.

My Uncle Mike was truly an unforgettable man. A World War II veteran, he returned to Iowa and worked hard to save enough money to buy a small farm, where he and Aunt Mary raised a son and daughter.

Eventually he had to quit farming because of his health. He went to work for the local veteran's hospital as a cook – a job he enjoyed tremendously for the 17 years he was there.

Uncle Mike was a very good cook. And he had a sense of humor that could keep you laughing all day long. I remember sitting beside him on the front porch as he played his harmonica.

He taught me that life is to be lived. Yes, there is work you must do, but you also have to make time to have fun. He told me that laughter is a very necessary part of life. Without it, he would say, the hard times you face can be even harder, if not impossible, to get through.

Through the years I've met other people who have left an indelible memory in my mind and footsteps on my heart. I've learned from each and every one of them. And, hopefully, been able to pass on some of life's lessons they taught me.