"What are the odds?!"

Dear Ms. Thornton,

Hi! You probably don't remember me, but you were my government teacher during my sophomore year of high school. You were gay. Really gay. Out and proud. You even married the principal, which was scandalous even for 1995 -- a time when gay marriage was not the hot button issue that it is today.

You probably didn't know -- how could you since even my parents didn't know -- that I was only a couple of years away from struggling with my sexuality. Did you know that you were name checked when my mother found out I was gay? Perhaps you might find it funny that she thought you made me gay. Ah, bless.

Well your name recently came up again because it seems my date from Sunday also had you as a teacher. What coincidence! She wasn't out at the time, but has since seen the light. Oh Ms. Thornton, how many other students did you make gay? Perhaps you could claim Mr. Bad Apologies too? You deserve a toaster. A really nice toaster.

Jokes aside, just wanted to say wow! Way to trail-blaze! You didn't care who knew you were out and those were the pre-Ellen dark ages of visibility. You were out in a public high school! I remember you took every last student to task who dared to use the word fag or dyke, to which I profess my very belated respect. I hope you're still married to our principal because that would be awesome.

Best,

Rouge
Class of '96