I had a great literature teacher in high school. I didn’t appreciate her back then as much as I should have. It’s funny how we look back and wish we’d said “thank you” more to our teachers.

I remember reading “Julius Caesar” and then listening to a great recording of it all. When we get to the point of the death scene, the recording was so great, so moving, you could have heard a pin drop in that English class. My buddy sitting in front of me, a big-shot football player, was so moved he had a tear in his eye. He’d probably kill me if I told you that, so don’t repeat it. I give him points for being honest, though. After class, he walked up beside me and said “Man, I had a tear in my eye. That was really cool.” So, there you go.

I think our teacher had a way of pulling us all in to stories and classic works of literature.  She had a knack.

If you took a survey of that particular class, I’d bet money most of us would say that the most memorable story we looked at that year was Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” We spent a great amount of time on that story. Then, she rolled the television into the room and popped in  a video cassette (still pretty new in those days) and we watched the oscar-winning movie. Again, you could have heard a pin drop.

I don’t know what it is about the book. Many, many people love it. It remains one of my favorite books and favorite movies. I hesitate to name my favorite anything, but if I had to pick, I’d probably name them in both categories.

The descriptive writing; the deep, meaningful relationships; the fantastic characters. Again, I can’t tell you exactly what it is about the book that seems almost magical.

The story pulls you in. You feel. You react. You root for Tom Robinson and you want to stand up when Atticus “is passin.”

Most of us will admit to having our heart swell up with many different emotions as we recall certain scenes in the book. I’m not ashamed to be sappy about that.

When Scout and Jem are walking home through the woods at night, I could hear the leaves and I could smell the crisp autumn air. I knew something was up, and I knew the kids were not safe. And to Harper Lee’s credit, I felt this way before watching the movie.  How about the rest of you?

When I was in college, I had three different literature classes, and I remember writing two or three papers on “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Back in those pre-internet days, I had to look all over the campus library for info on Harper Lee. Most of the stuff I found on her was on microfilm from magazines dated between 1961 and 1964. She stopped doing interviews after that.

Even now, you can find very little on Harper Lee. There is a YouTube clip in which she accepted an award at a college a few years ago. She rose to a thunderous ovation. She remarked that she had prepared a little something but that she was too overwhelmed with emotion to speak.  She said “Thank you” and sat down. According to those few who know her, that was a lot for her to say.

I have read what little there is on Harper Lee. Earlier this summer, I read a book written by a gal who had lived next door to Harper and her older sister for several months. I read some interviews of friends and family members. There’s even a documentary called “Hey Boo” in which friends and even her older sister Alice talk. All of the info I’ve read point to the fact that she just wants to be left alone.

She’s not reclusive nor unfriendly. It’s just that she found out early on that things in print are there forever. Misquotes and made-up information, speculations and the like that often go with stories about celebrities are things she wanted to avoid.

And so, she did. And does.

According to what I have read, Harper Lee (who goes by Nelle) is in an assisted living facility right now and has trouble with her sight. She is also almost deaf. Her older sister passed away last year at the age of 103.

Harper Lee’s story is not quite finished, though.  She apparently wrote her first book “Go Set a Watchman” long ago; before “Mockingbird.” As far as I know from what I have read, a publisher, agent or someone like that told her she should put the flashbacks together into a story. The rest is history and “Watchman” was tucked away and perhaps forgotten.

Somebody found it recently and it was decided to get it printed. The release date for the book is July 14. By the time you read this, it will be on the shelf.

There has been all kinds of controversy: is Harper Lee in her right mind? Being nearly blind and deaf, is she capable of even signing on the dotted line or giving her consent for anything? Despite the speculation and hub-bub, Harper Lee is apparently “Happy as hell.” From what I have read of her, this type of response is typical; salty language and all. I have always found older folks with salty language funny. Harper Lee turns 90 next April.

I really do hope that no one is taking advantage of this great lady. I hope she knows what is going on and I hope she knows how excited the rest of us are.  There is a lot of anticipation.

To use a more southern expression that Lee may have used herself; well, we are just “tickled to pieces.”