"A Teacher Who Really Taught Me Something Valuable"

Recently, my editor asked me to compose a biographical blurb for the two books I'll be self-publishing soon. These will be my 14th and 15th books I'll be self-publishing, NONE of them have sold well* and frankly, I don't expect the NEW ones to (and I don't really care.) After giving a brief description of who I am, written in the third person, I concluded my Bio as follows:

"Chet..................doesn't expect to have a great deal of commercial success as a writer.  'I believe the things I write are good, obviously but they are not popular' he says.  Nonetheless he writes with joyful conviction for the pure love of self-expression and desiring to use the gifts God has given him for His glory."

Not exactly a good "plug" for my book, you say?? I disagree.  I'm being HONEST and that is ALWAYS what's best.  People can take it or leave it, that's their decision, but I believe there are people out there SEARCHING for honesty and they'll find what I write, God willing.  But the question I asked myself after I wrote my Bio is How did I GET this way??  Who instilled this principle inside of me, this "independence"?? And the answer is "a Teacher who taught me something valuable...Mrs. Elizabeth Stiller" (pictured.)

As I've been reflecting a lot on the 50th anniversary of entering ARTS HIGH SCHOOL this month (see my Sept. 9th blog), I've been remembering MRS. STILLER'S input into my young life, at age 14-15.  As I've mentioned before, Arts High was a school which specialized in ART and MUSIC training.  I got in for ART but fell in love with creative WRITING soon after entering.  However, though Writing became my new passion, I still attended Art classes and Mrs. Stiller was my first Art teacher.

Mrs. Stiller really CARED about me, she saw that my turbulent home life burdened me and distracted me from scholastic achievement and she thought I had artistic talent that I wasn't developing (she was right.) But one thing she emphasized about Art is that it wasn't meant to be used PRIMARILY to make money, but for self-expression regardless of whether it's popular or not.

Around this time (50 years ago this fall), a song that was popular on AM radio made the same point...

"Make your own kind of music

Sing your own special song

Make your own kind of music

Even if nobody else sings along" went the refrain.

Mrs. Stiller was basically saying Make your own kind of ART (not Music), and when I started showing her my WRITING (which I never cared to show even to my ENGLISH teachers), she gave the same message:  "Write what's in your heart."

To be totally honest, were Mrs. Stiller alive TODAY, she might not like a lot of things that I write and PROBABLY wouldn't care for my determination to "use the gifts God has given me for His glory."

For as I recall, she was NOT "into God," at least not the God of THE BIBLE. 

But to that I would say she taught me "Write what's in your heart, Chet, no matter what anyone else thinks" and God mercifully has CHANGED my heart since 1969!! Furthermore, I am DEFINITELY not writing POPULAR stuff....nothing is LESS popular in America today than Christianity (my upcoming books present Christian perspectives very forcefully, regarding issues many don't want to tackle, it seems.)  

So despite objections that she may have, I will ALWAYS be thankful to God for Mrs. Stiller, the INstiller (Lol) of a character-shaping, life-changing principle that SHE may have wished she never taught me...but I honor her memory by going ahead, anyway!!



* The one exception might be the compilation book with the tribute to Pastor Martin, but I set it up so that I receive no profits from it.  In THAT sense it isn't a commercial success for me, and I'm good with that...it was my idea, Lol!!