the Shoe fits

I've never been a teacher, but I would imagine that there is no greater satisfaction than hearing
that a former student credits that teacher for some success or accomplishment in their adult life.
I'm not sure that this is that story for Dr. Toni Shoemaker, but I enjoyed stumbling into this story this afternoon in Lapel.

Debbie and I were working hard on the year-long remodel of her 120 year old home in Lapel on this beautiful Saturday afternoon, when I heard a car pull up out front. I walked around to see that it was Debbie's younger oldest brother, Steve Gibson and his wife Cheri. Steve has been lovingly restoring a 1966 Corvair Coupe, and they were out for a sunny joyride, when they happened by.

My Dad had Corvairs for most of the late 1960's and most of the 1970's. I learned to drive in a convertible Corvair, so I have a soft spot in my heart for this little Chevy. I especially enjoyed it when Steve took me for a quick ride through the Lapel countryside, and around a few scary turns that I never imagined a Corvair could navigate at 60 MPH. Come to think of it, I didn't even realize Corvairs could get up to 60 MPH.

After we returned from our drive, and my heartbeat returned to a normal pace, the four of us stood in the front yard and talked for some time. At some point, I asked what year Steve graduated from Anderson High School, and he told me it had been 1982. We played the game of guessing names of classmates, and I remembered that Steve had been a gymnast in high school,
as had his two younger brothers, so we talked about some of the Edgewood gymnasts I remembered, like the Poore and Bish brothers, or Mark Howenstine. Steve mentioned a couple others, including a Degitz, who lived across from the "New" Edgewood School, so I asked if he had known Joey Shoemaker, son of Anderson High School teacher, Dr. Toni Shoe.

This is when Steve told me that Toni Shoemaker is the reason that he and his wife Cheri are married today. This made no sense at all to me, so Steve went on to explain how Mrs. Shoe had affected the adult lives of Steve, and even his two younger brothers, Don and Troy.

As the story goes, Mrs. Shoe had decided that her son Joey needed to try out for the gymnastics team at Anderson High School, so Joey grudgingly obliged. His friend Troy Gibson wanted to continue to hang out with Joey, so he went out for gymnastics, as well. Not to be outdone by his little brother, Steve tried out for the team, and younger brother Don eventually followed suit.

I'm told that Joey did not stay involved in gymnastics for very long, but the Gibson boys got hooked, and turned out to be naturals. So much so that the three brothers all became gymnastics coaches in their adult lives, which is where Steve met fellow coach, and future wife, Cheri. Steve no longer coaches, but he is still quite fit and agile, and looks like he can still perform a proper "L-seat", if not an "Iron Cross". Troy and Don are full-time gymnastics coaches, and Don is married to Kim, another gymnastics coach. One of the girls that Don coached over the past few years performed on the 2008 United States Olympic Gymnastics Team, until she badly hurt her leg, just before the Gold Medal Finals.

I have always credited Dr. Toni Shoemaker for nurturing, and inspiring a passion for creative writing, which I enjoy today. If you are still reading this entry, you can thank Dr. Shoe that I didn't put you to sleep.

I don't know that Dr. Shoe had the opportunity to inspire the Gibson boys from the classroom, but she did inadvertently inspire the career choices of at least two Gibson's, and her choices for her son Joe just happened to put Steve on the right path to find his wife.

And as if to bring the story around full circle, Debbie had always wanted to be a teacher, and over the years, as she raised and home-schooled four great kids, although she had managed to get halfway to her Teaching degree, time and opportunity had kept that dream just out of reach.
Three years ago, Steve's wife, Cheri, called Debbie out of the blue, and referred her for an interview for a teaching position at Interactive Academy, which features academic programs for pre-schoolers, as well as, a world-class gymnastics facility.

Debbie has been teaching two year olds and pre-schoolers there for three years now, and is loving every minute of working her true passion. And she would not be there, if not for Cheri,
therefore, you could say that Joe and Toni Shoemaker share an indirect responsibility for Debbie reaching her dream of becoming a teacher of children, and ironically, in an academy that features
a world class gymnastics facility. Coincidence? I think not!

Call it six degrees of separation, coincidence, destiny, or all in a day's work for a great teacher.

Whatever it is, I'll go ahead and thank Dr. Shoe for all the lives she has inspired and affected.

Even if i was just to get "Little Joey" out of the house late that summer......


.