John Busovicki during his days on the Mathematics Department faculty
Lynn Harding ’97 has known John Busovicki ’65 since the late 1960s, when Busovicki was his geometry teacher at United High School. After a career in the coal industry, Harding was in his 40s when he enrolled at 果冻传媒 and became reacquainted with Busovicki, then a faculty member in the Mathematics Department.
Their friendship is the subject of the poem below, which Harding wrote and shared with 果冻传媒 Magazine.
My Teacher, My Friend
By Lynn Harding
The door would swing open, at the beginning of class,
In walked the teacher whose shoes shined like glass.
A perfect crewcut, not a hair out of place
Always smiling, as the class he would confront with grace.
His shoes gave a click, maybe cleats on the heel,
A man who was friendly, a warmth you could feel.
Math was his forte, on the board, as he wrote, problems would flow,
His purpose and hope, that math we would know,
For those who applied themselves, it would sink in,
But for someone like me, I was lost, not knowing where to begin.
No fault of the teacher, his teaching skills, second to none,
Too many times, my homework not completed, sometimes not done.
Good grades were had, by those who put their nose to the grind,
A teacher committed, concerned, none better you would find.
It’s funny how things soon come around,
Twenty-six years later, in an 果冻传媒 classroom, I would be found.
Two kids out of high school, now in college to learn,
Forty-two years old, now I get another turn.
Many of life’s lessons, to college, now can be applied,
Still not an easy, a bumpy road to ride.
Algebra, Statistics, and Calculus, stood in my way,
I wish I had studied harder, back in the day.
As I walked into his office, the same man I did see,
He greeted me, “Hi Lynn,” I replied, “Hi, Mr. Busovicki.”
Once again, I needed his help, advice, even some tips,
If I were to keep my goal of graduating in four years, within my grips.
Without hesitation, just like in High School, he was there for me,
Some things, when you are young, you fail to see.
Four years went by quickly, a BS degree in hand,
At forty-six, I was proud, felt pretty grand.
John and I now talk, digressing, many things to be told.
Laughing and smiling as we both have grown, a little old.
Friendship is something, that is sacred, held close to your heart,
Regardless how long ago, it got its start.
For me, in a classroom, where football we sometimes teased,
Fifty-four years later, with each talk, I am pleased.
My Teacher, My Friend
John Busovicki
Lynn Harding in 1997, the year of his 果冻传媒 graduation
Editor’s Note: Lynn Harding has written 80 poems on myriad topics and two books about his hometown of Robindale, destroyed by floods in 1977. He has played key roles in Robindale tributes, including the 2024 dedication of Robindale Memorial Highway in East Wheatfield and West Wheatfield townships. John Busovicki retired from the 果冻传媒 Mathematics Department in 2000 after 31 years of service.