Lyn Paul Relph

A full moon appearing through stormy clouds early this morning brought to mind some lines from the poem The Highwayman, which was introduced to my by Mr. Relph in the fall of 1960. I was a freshman at Crespi Carmelite High School and Mr. Relph was my English teacher. I googled his name and thus sadly learned of his passing. I would have loved to be able to tell him that his efforts to share a love of literature to an unruly bunch of high school freshmen still resonates to this day. It was like he was gazing back at me through that moonlight this morning. Well done, Mr. Relph.

I first saw him when he played basketball at Mt Carmel Boys High School. His muscled calves impressed me.

Lyn was a big influence on my life. He and my sister used to go to Pickwick Bookstore in Hollywood and he would choose books for me to read, usually English classics. When I got to college, I remember him reading my papers for my English classes and commenting on them. I remember him saying "Vague...vague!" I am sure at least one of the reasons I learned to love literature was due to his influence.

We danced at a summer party to Smoke Gets in your Eyes. He asked for my phone number and I was surprised. Our first date was at Disneyland in July of 1957. It had just opened. I loved this man. Life however, got in the way, and things went south. But love was always there. And it will always be.