George of the Jungle

George Kuchar, one of my film teachers, passed away recently. When I was in school for photography I took a few classes with a guy who was in the film department. He had come to the San Francisco Art Institute to study with George but couldn't get a class with him for a year. He had never met George and when he finally walked into George's classroom he was confused. He'd seen this homeless guy hanging around the school who carried a plastic bag with him and took showers in the bathroom. Turns out it was George. George was one of those teachers who would remember everyone's name on the first day of school and he never forgot it. Ever. Here is a letter to my friend Francis sent 18 years after I took his class.