It’s Never Too Late to Try

By Veronica Baginski

My great uncle was a science teacher for 30+ years in the Warren school district. He made such an impact on his students’ lives so much so that former students would see him years or decades later in a store and would reintroduce themselves and tell him how much they loved his class. He was always gracious and humble when they would reminisce how much fun they had in his class. Being a science teacher was who he was. 

When he retired, the joy he experienced from teaching science was gone because he didn’t have any students to teach. So, he began to paint. He would watch Bob Ross videos and learn different painting techniques. He would stop by the local lumber yard and pick up scrap pieces of wood they couldn’t sell. He had a collection of old calendars, magazine cut outs, and random pictures of landscapes that he liked. These became his visions. He would paint the landscapes but always add a twist or a little something extra to them. Before he knew it, he had an entire collection of art that we would give away at family gatherings.  

To spread his knowledge of painting, he would barter with a campground in northern Michigan every summer. The campground would host events for senior citizens and my great uncle would get a place to park his camper in exchange for teaching people how to paint. He would lead the class and his wife, my great aunt, would help facilitate with art supplies. This is how they spent every summer in retirement, teaching people how to paint and express their creativity. It brought him so much joy watching peoples’ faces light up when their painting was done. For him, his identity was not in being a science or art teacher but rather in helping people discover the joy of learning. This discovery only happened because he stepped outside his comfort zone and learned a new skill in retirement. He is the epitome of its never too late to try.