My teacher Mrs. Heinz and The Hobbit

The memory of a good teacher can be a beautiful thing that lasts a lifetime

In 6th grade, I had a teacher who did something extraordinary and unexpected: on Friday afternoons, she would read a chapter of The Hobbit to us. I had never read The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. I had never heard of them. I know that's hard to believe now, after the six movie releases, with all the massive hype and fanfare.

But when I was in the 6th grade, it was long before the Internet, smartphones, and all the technology we have today. Life was quieter then, and information did not come at you 24/7 like a tsunami. Gen X had a very different upbringing than later generations, which extended to finding and reading books.

Mrs. Heinz reads The Hobbit to our class

I remember the first day of her class when she announced she would read to us. I liked reading, but what 6th-grade boy would like to sit there and listen to a teacher read a book? And what the heck was this "hobbit" thing going to be about anyway? The book's title sounded weird, and I was sure it would be tedious to listen t…