All good things must come to an end ...

... and VAMPY, being very good, is one of those things. It's difficult for me to even express how much I've enjoyed teaching you ... And talking with you, and discussing art and life and literature with you, and giving you vintage Power Ranger stickers, and yelling "COOPUN!" at you, and just generally being around you. It's a rare gift to have such intelligent and curious and talented students, and it's even more rare to have intelligent and curious and talented students who are also kind and courteous and funny and sweet. I, too, wish VAMPY could go on forever.

And I hope that it will, in some sense: this is your blog. Use it! I hope to see more of your writing, and your thoughts about writing, and about the wonder that is Chuck Norris.

I was reminded today of a poem by one of my favorite teachers, Robert Creeley. Though he passed on shortly after our class had ended, he left me with so much, as he taught me so much about life and teaching and art. As I've gotten the same gift from you, I thought I'd share this:

This walking on
and on, this
going and coming—
this morning

shines such lovely
light on
all of us
we're home.