On the coldest winter days, my intrepid mother would pull me on a wooden sleigh with curved metal runners, bundled up immobile and beyond recognition on the cross-country trek to my kindergarten class with Miss Linkletter at Prince Phillip Public School. It was there that I learned to count and to sound out the alphabet years before Sesame Street aired on television. My earliest memories of this class included my inability to use a coat hanger to hang up my coat, which ultimately led to a total reliance on coat hooks and a fear of trying. I had a slow start.

I do clearly remember nap time when we would, as a group, lay our little blankets down in a large circle on the cold, hard linoleum floor and pretend to sleep while Miss Linkletter busied herself preparing for our next activity. I can confidently say that Miss Linkletter was my first love, a secret until now.