I was completely humbled and elated when my former high school A.P. English teacher, Mr. Spagnuolo, walked into my cute, little pie shop.  He truly looked the same to me with the exception of his unfortunate Parkinson’s disease affecting his gait and balance.  His smile was sweet and tender and his voice was calming and sure, just as it was almost thirty years ago.  But, his big gift, his words and his wisdom were as profound, sound and as addictive to me as they were so many years ago. 

 Mr.  Spag, as he was fondly referred to,  introduced me to the written word, our vernacular, non-fiction, fiction and classic characters, writers, poets,  and other worlds;  a whole beautiful utopia of how words can change people and ultimately, the way we choose to live.  He taught me to examine, imagine, create, articulate, work hard, be passionate, believe and dream. 
He inspired me.
He believed in me.

Truly, many people affect how we create our own life, and make no mistake we do create our own life.  However, sometimes certain people carve their initials into our souls and enable us to see our potential, our gifts and our own utopia.  Mr. Spag did this for me.  He told me I was smart and that if I worked hard that I could accomplish much.  He told me I had gifts.  He told me to dream.  He believed in me. I was astounded that a man of his merit thought all of this of me, little Linda McComb (Hundt.)  

His years of teaching me and his few sentences literally changed my way of thinking, instead of reading  and dreaming of all the other worlds, I knew that I had what it takes to create my own.  And, I did, in retrospect, exactly what  he taught me to.  I dreamed, I created, I used my passion and gifts and I worked hard, very hard,  to create the life I want and the world I want to live in, to share with my family and friends and now my customers.

I have a guest book at my shop that customers write in, expressing their feelings for the shop, email addresses etc.  People are so gracious, and have written such lovely things about their experience at my bakery-café, Sweetie-licious, and I appreciate each and every comment.   However, never was I more pleased when Mr. Spag wrote a few sentences down in my little red book despite his ailing hands.  When I read what he wrote, it brought tears to my eyes.

Some people dream.  Some make theirs come true.  Hugh Spagnuolo I promise you, if I had not been blessed to have you as my English teacher all those years ago, I would not be everything I am today nor, everything I will be tomorrow. 

Eat pie, inspire others… xo Linda