As coincidence would have it, it was less than a week ago that I visited my first schoolteacher of 61 years ago. During that visit he reminisced about his most crowded and best ever class that had been allocated the smallest room in the school. He also joked about the luxury of there being not one but three ‘Frankies’ in that class. One of them was Frans.

To me Frans was always one of the less than a handful whom I consider as my friends because he was a friend indeed, not communicating maybe for long periods but there in an instant in my hour of need. He was also one of the very few who appreciated me and I express my gratitude for that, whatever his intentions might have been.

The national literary sphere is as poorer by his demise as the national literary heritage is richer by his works.

Sliem, Frankie.

Frank Galea

ZEBBUG