Middle school was an interesting time for ‘J.J’ and he found himself approaching the holiday season in sixth grade facing a meeting with his parents and his English teacher, Mr. Stephen Larusso. Believing that the only cause for these impromptu ‘meetings’ was for something bad, J.J. nervously waited for his teacher to speak. What came from that meeting was not a disciplinary issue, but one of concern that he had not been placed in the proper level class.

He was moved into an advanced English class when school resumed after the New Year and he learned, through lessons and many creative writing projects, the rules of writing and how, when, and why to break them. J.J. spent his entire Middle School career under the guidance of Mr. Larusso and it is because of this man’s foresight and compassion that this young kid grew up to eventually realize his passion for writing professionally.

G. Thomas doubts that he would be a writer today without this remarkable teacher who, with a simple act of caring, changed the course of his life and opened a door that otherwise may have remained closed forever.