He was a samall man who had come to America from Cuba. His name was Mr. Otero, and he was the most excitable adult I had personally ever known.

He was the director of our high school language lab, all state of the art equipment then, now it looks so, well, yesterday. His speacialty was Latin. As a possible nursing major someday, I was told that Latin might be a good background to have as to the understand of the root names of medications and the nomenclature of the body and diseases. Hell, it sure beat taking French LOL.

His ability to speak Latin, to actually teach us to converse using a so-called dead lamnguage made me feel exxhilaterated. There were only 1twelve students in the freshman class so there was much attention paid to each individual. It was also though, that he, in his enthusiasm, made the ancients come alive for me. I could see into the remote past with a clarity that was fun and altogether new.

By the time I was a senior I was his only senior student, so I had private study and was tutoring the new group.I remember those days with much fondess, and thank God for Mr Otero...he's the reason I can't read enough about Rome, although I confess to having lost the langusge LOL