Alan, I will miss you.  Your quiet competence was a gift. I remember your stories about how you ranged through the woods in back of your house with brothers and friends.  I remember your stories of living in Staunton and working in a factory, then moving on to Virginia Beach and finally to Washington.  I remember you and the kids.  You grew as a teacher in both skills and confidence.  I remember Lea saying that Sophie preferred August when she pretty much had you to herself.  I remember your enjoyment of field trips with a few kids.  I remember your quiet play with Tiffany and me and the fire truck.   My last memory of you was playing with you and the kids in the side yard-here on October 8th from 2 to 3 PM.  I know you would have liked to die quickly like this and not in a long drawn out illness but it is hard on us who see you in so much around the school from the paint in the ALG kitchen to the puzzles on the shelf.  I think your passing will make a big hole at ALG.

Pickett Craddock