When we returned to school this year and I was put on Tuesday morning duty in the gym, I cannot say I was happy (Sorry Dr. Martin)! I enjoyed getting to school early, grabbing a coffee and kind of "easing into the morning." But it seemed as if I would not be doing that on Tuesdays, as I would have to sit in the gyms and keep track of the students that showed up early. I was assigned to do this with Mr. Glaeser. Now I am going to be honest, I barely knew him at the time. Although we both worked at Wooster, we never got many chances to speak. But the 2020/2021 school year changed that, and for this I am grateful.

At the beginning of the school year, Blake and I spent the majority of the 45 minutes in the morning trying to figure out students' names. Even the ones we knew looked completely different because of masks. But as we got more comfortable with this, we had long spurts of time in which we could just chat. We mostly talked about Covid in those early weeks, Blake being a man of science and me being paranoid about viruses. But our conversations started to veer off to all topics. We discussed politics, religion, the education system, and environmental issues. Our conversations made the time fly, and we would keep talking as we walked up the hill and finally parted ways when he would go to the science building and I would head to my office. It was only a few short weeks before I realized I had gained a good friend.

Now I am not a big social media person, but shockingly I have found myself joining Instagram during Covid. Shortly after I joined I got a request to be followed by Blake, so I accepted and followed him back. While he was probably unimpressed by the many shots of my dog from different angles, I was surprised at all of the new things that I found out about my new friend. He was a baker, always making some nice dinner for himself or some interesting type of cookie or dessert. In fact, one of the last times I saw him, he brought me two types of cookies that he had baked the night before. He was proud that they turned out close to the way that his aunt used to make them. He was a bike rider, enjoying rides on nice days especially during the times when things were shut down. He enjoyed feeding the birds and took beautiful pictures of them at his feeders. He gardened, grew his own vegetables, and dried and canned foods. He brewed beer, he made hot sauce, and made jerky. He had a pet lizard, Isla, who he loved. He smiled when he talked about her. He was a tea connoisseur, a photographer, a coffee drinker, and a builder. There were pictures of things he built from wood, tools that he was taking apart and putting back together, and knives that he was making. He was normally making these things for his family, as he truly just enjoyed the process. And every Tuesday, I would ask him about one of his posts and learn even more about him.

These are all things that I never would have known about Blake if I did not have my Tuesdays with him. And I would not have known these things because he wasn't "showy" about them. He didn't brag or need praise. He did not advertise about how interesting he was. Blake was a hidden gem and a gentle soul, and just saw the beauty in the world and wanted to enjoy it. These are the best kinds of people.

I will miss sitting in the gym chatting with my friend. It will be lonely walking up the hill after our duty without him walking next to me. But I am so grateful for the Tuesday morning duties that I spent with Blake. I am lucky to have had him as a friend. And I am honored that he considered me one.