I had a great time last Sunday afternoon.

I dropped into Laura Johnstone's home to take her picture and wish her happy birthday -- She will turn ninety on November 18. That plan to drop by for a quick photo turned into two and a half hours of wonderful, laughter-filled conversation.

After teaching for forty-two years at a number of different schools specializing in English literature and grammar, Miss Johnstone -- I couldn't bring myself to call her Laura -- retired from NDSS in 1974 with a plan to help anyone she could on a voluntary one-on-one basis. She has been busy helping ever since and seems to specialize in children and seniors.

"I keep wondering when I am going to grow old," she laughed.

This is a woman who has the energy level of someone half her age, a fact she credits to her faith. She is very involved in her church. I suspect a lot of it also comes from her ongoing commitment to help others whenever she can but that too is a Christian value isn't it?

I first heard about Miss. Johnstone when an educator friend of mine, who doesn't want his/her name mentioned, sent me an email last spring.

Miss. Johnstone had asked to visit his/her school to make sure she was up to date with the current Grade 5 curriculum. One of her one-on-one students was a young boy she was preparing to go into Grade 5 in the public system after being home schooled for several years.

"She [Miss. Johnstone} spent a few hours reading though the curriculum guides and making notes. When she was finished I spoke with her for a while. She told me she has been a volunteer tutor for years now. We discussed curriculum trends, strategies for planning, diagnostic tests, the on going in-service she has taken part in all over North America and so on.

"Some of her success stories with students that were considered 'hopeless' academics and who later went on to be productive, successful, contributors are quite incredible.

"I personally found Laura to be an inspiration! She is so bright, articulate and well informed! She is a fabulous role model and presents such hope for growing old and continuing to contribute in an important and meaningful way to society. She is an outstanding example of a life long learner. I have never met anyone her age like her."

When I first spoke to Miss. Johnstone on the phone, I thought I was talking to a forty-year-old woman. Her voice was filled with energy. When I met her today, although she looked older that forty, she sure didn't look ninety ... not even close ... and her energy level and her memory are incredible -- Probably at least part of her amazing memory can be attributed to the fact that she does the crossword puzzle every day.

"I do the crossword puzzle and read the obituaries," she laughed, "and of course I read your column!" - Pretty good sense of humor what?

The most important lesson I learned from Miss Johnstone is, the more you give the more you receive, a lesson easy to talk about but harder to practice.

Her friends say that wherever she goes in the city, she meets former students and gets smothered with smiles and compliments. She also seems to have a stream of former students sending notes or dropping by for tea. But the story that really got me is the one about the student she taught during the nineteen forties who still sends her a dozen red roses every Christmas.

The love she has given over the years keeps on being multiplied and sent back and of course that leaves her with even more to give today.