Always tall for my age, I’m in the back row, third from the right (not counting Miss Heeter), in the red blouse and plaid jumper

One day, my first-grade teacher, Miss Heeter, brought a small, brown coconut to class, cracked it open, and extracted and grated the meat.

Next she whipped up a batch of vanilla buttercream icing, mixed in the coconut, and spread the fresh coconut icing over Nilla Wafers.

Six years old, living in the safe confines of suburban Philadelphia in the 1960s, I had never tasted anything so seemingly exotic. . .or so good in my young life.

I thank god for Miss Heeter to this day, for she awakened in me a curious palate, which eventually led to my choosing food and wine as my life’s career.

Have you had a Miss Heeter in your life, a valued teacher who awakened a passion in your life?