A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 18
This is the 12th year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Because the best way to come up with a great story idea is to come up with a lot of ideas. And the best way to come up with a lot of ideas is to be proactive in sourcing story ideas.
Today’s story: Substitute teacher living in car receives $27K raised by former students on his 77th birthday.
A substitute teacher in California received $27,000 on his 77th birthday after former students launched a fundraising campaign after seeing him living out of his car.
Jose Villarruel has been living in his car since 2013, but things got worse in 2020 when he couldn’t work as a substitute teacher.
Steven Nava said that every day on his way to work he saw the elderly educator starting his morning by getting what he needs from the trunk of his 24-year-old car. Nava decided to start a fundraising page online with the a goal of raising $5,000 for the struggling teacher. It exceeded expectations to say the least.
To the tune of $27,000!
It’s a touching human interest news item… but how to transform into a movie? Mr. Holland’s Opus had a similar theme: A teacher who eventually realizes that his lifetime of service as an educator influenced hundreds of former students. Here’s what I’ve come up with.
An inner city public school. A rowdy group of high school sophomores. For many of them, they are “riding the pine” to get through the academic year because then they are no longer mandated by law to attend school. Their continual belligerence and refusal to accept authority has driven their regular school teacher to quit mid-year.
One of the leaders of the class is our Protagonist (Maria). The oldest child in a family with three other siblings and a single mother. Maria is perpetually angry at being forced to “mother” her brothers and sister… at the family’s fragile financial state (her mother Yolanda works two full-time jobs)… and the seeming lack of prospects for her future or any of her peers.
Enter George. He is a substitute teacher brought in to oversee Maria’s class on a temporary basis with the possibility to fill out the term through the end of the academic year. George is Black, early 70s, and has a pronounced limp of untold origin. His first day overseeing the class is a disaster. The youths are even worse in their treatment of George than they were with their regular teacher.
After school, as Maria trudges home through the vibrant but hardscrabble streets of her urban neighborhood, she spots George, limping along carrying his well-worn satchel. Curious, she heads his way. Watches him turn a corner. When she makes the same turn, just moments later… George is nowhere to be found.
The next day at school, the students are cutting up as usual. George enters. Opens his satchel. Carefully pulls out items he needs for the day’s session. Carefully lines them up. Then he folds his hands in front of himself…
And just sits. Doesn’t say a word. Simply stares from one student to the next. Not mean, not comical, no expression at all on his aged face.
The kids egg him on. C’mon, man, you got nothin’ to say? Nothing from George. Continues to look at the students, one by one.
After several minutes of this, the mood changes in the classroom. The students are on edge. What the fuck is it with this guy? They look to Maria: Do somethin’.
She approaches George, calmly seated behind his desk. Hey, you. He pays her no heed. She snaps his fingers in his face. You pay attention to me, awright? George slowly casts his gaze at Maria… for a long moment. Then returns his attention to the rest of the class.
This pisses off Maria. She swipes one of his books off the desk. It lands with a loud thud. George turns toward her. His face grows cold… stern… narrows his eyelids and shit… that is one scary stare!
Maria gulps. She tries to save face. Just talk to us, man. This silent thing, it’s like creepy. George does not blink. I’ll talk… when you’re ready.
He turns that stone-cold stare to the rest of the class. One by one, the kids sit down at their desks. Maria edges away from George, eyes locked on him, unsure what he’s going to do. She sits.
A looooooooooong silence. Then —
Y’all ready now?
A few head nods.
We begin with Chapter Seven.
And the class day officially begins.
In the spirit of Stand and Deliver, To Sir, With Love, and Stand By Me, over time, the students learn to respect George. What he teaches them is less book learning than life lessons. He tells stories, some about his own life, some about ordinary heroes in history.
Maria is especially curious about George and she’s the one who discovers he’s living in his car. What’s his backstory? That’s up to you. But there’s something there about the young people raising money for George.
Here’s a question: Does he accept it? Does he have too much pride? Is he embarrassed at having his living circumstance made public?
There you have it, my 18th story idea of the month. What would YOU do with it?
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Day 13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17
Each day in April, I invite you to join me in comments to do some brainstorming. Take each day’s story idea and see what it can become when we play around with it. These are valuable skills for a writer to develop.
