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I have a Gary Larson story I want to share (again) because it involves, happiness, betrayal and a lifetime of simmering hatred, disappointment and distrust. Intrigued? THREAD
When I was roughly 12-13 years old, my mother took my sister and I to Whistler's Books, a small, independent, now defunct bookstore in Overland Park, Kansas. Gary Larson was there for a book signing. I think it was his first book because nobody else was there when we arrived.
That means we had Gary Larson all to ourselves and he was so, so kind. I joked with us and he took the time to autograph a book for each of us, drawing personalized cartoons and messages for each of us on the cover page. We left that store beaming.
When I got home, I must've read that book 100 times. I could not believe he drew those cartoons for us. I wanted to share with everyone so I took the book to a show and tell in my first hour class of 7th grade. My teacher, who was very popular in the school, was so amused!
He laughed and laughed and after class, he asked if he could hold onto the book until the end of the day so he could read it. I loved this teacher and so I agreed. To my great shock, when I went back after the last bell, the teacher acted very perplexed about the book. What book?
My teacher acted like he couldn't remember what book I was talking about and he certainly didn't remember me leaving it with him. I felt panicked. I felt sick. Sensing my anxiety, he invited me to tear his entire classroom apart to look for it.
The room was lined with tall cabinets and drawers, it had once been a science classroom. He sat at his desk while I cried, opening every single cabinet, every single draw looking for the book. He sat there and watched.
I eventually gave up and walked home, crying the entire way home. I had been betrayed by one of the my favorite teachers. By everyone's favorite teacher. Who were people going to believe? Of course, he had probably taken the book to his car at lunch.
To this day, I feel so much hurt, anger and disappointment at that betrayal from a trusted teacher. I never got my book back. That personalized book TO ME is probably sitting on his shelf at home as I type. He's still alive. I have dreams of confronting him.
I know he will lie about it because he proved himself that day to be a world class liar that day. I've thought about waiting until he dies and confronting his children, who still live in my community, asking them for the book back.
I really don't want to publicly name this teacher, even though I think the does deserve it. I cringe when I see former classmates fondly remembering him or sharing a photo of bumping into him at a grocery store or wherever. It immediately lights a fire in me.
Anyway, that's the day I found out just how shitty people can be. It really made me lose trust in my teachers and in others. I still don't know what would drive him to steal something so personal from a student.
Final thought: If you ever see a first edition Gary Larson Far Side for sale online with a personalized cartoon of a little snake and an inscription for "Jennifer" --- please buy it immediately. I promise I will reward you handsomely to return it to its rightful owner.
Updates:
1) I didn't tell my mother because I thought I would get in trouble for losing the book and/or she would make things worse by making a big scene about everyone's favorite teacher
2) He's very much alive and I found his contact information. I'm contemplating next steps.
1) I didn't tell my mother because I thought I would get in trouble for losing the book and/or she would make things worse by making a big scene about everyone's favorite teacher
2) He's very much alive and I found his contact information. I'm contemplating next steps.
