People who Make a Difference in Our lIves

I believe in honoring people for their spirit, compassion, and the difference they make in our lives and others lives. June Langford Berkley is one of the finest people I have known in my life. She is an author, a teacher, a mentor to many, and a shining example of what friendship truly can be. She is all things wise, and sees life through a bright intellect. She is an avid researcher, reader and thinker.

Why is that important in art and in my art blog? It is because people who are exceptional individuals bring an added dimension to or lives. They influence who we are and who we become. If we surround ourselves with positive people who we learn from, who set an example for us, the we also are supported for our own successes. June does this not only for me, but for many friends and ex-students. She was the kind of child who was reading at two, who was always a grade ahead in her rural West Virginia school. She was exceeding bright and curious, not something every one in the mountains of West Virginia understood.

June has traveled with me to Turkey, Greece and Mexico. The picture below is one taken in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. She has taught me how to face some of life's roughest moments and always been there when I faced them. She has taught me about literature, friendship and loyalty, and she has shared a lifetime of wisdom learned by endurance and problem solving. She has taught me that in life one must for ever be curious and active in the things one cares about.

Her hundreds of students that keep in touch with her from her career of teaching English are testament enough to her character. Her colleagues who taught with her, or served under her when she was President of the English Teachers association, or her co-members on the presidents council on censorship, or her teachers she trained in school literature workshops across Ohio all are testaments to the kind of individual June is.

But to me she is my friend, who supports all I do, celebrates my art, and is forever a guide in how to be a wonderful human being. I encourage you to honor people in your life who have had a positive influence, honor them for who they are and the difference that make in your life. They make us better people and better artist.