Eyes are on the prize: Mr. Henry's granite countertop (Boston Globe)

[Paper Boy]

Editor's note: Red Sox fans are not just everywhere, they're also quick to share their thoughts on the team's World Series victory. Here are two more entries, both by school teachers.

So, the Red Sox have won the World Series, and we are all breathing easier as we slide slowly into winter.

I'll bet John Henry, principal owner of the Red Sox, is - and now he can go concentrate on his new home.

Do you remember the $16 million house in Brookline John Henry reportedly had bought? And how he wants to tear it down because it supposedly doesn't match the image he has of his dream house and it's easier to tear it down than to renovate it?

Well, I do.

Why do I remember? And why do I write about this now?

Because I am Mrs. John Henry. No, not Mrs. "That John Henry." I live in Winchester with "John My Husband" Henry and, until recently, our grown son - also a John Henry - and his sister, who are both adult children and now out of the homestead for good (we think).

We have lived in our home since 1985. It's a three-bedroom, 2 1/2-bath Cape. It used to be a 1 1/2-bathroom home, but we added a second bathroom in 1995. We also have updated a few things, and our landscaping is very pretty. All our neighbors tell us so.

But there is one thing we don't have - granite countertops. Nope, ours are Formica; not bad, stained, burn-hole Formica, but Formica nevertheless.

I read a couple of years ago that Formica countertops - and I'm quoting here - "scream last millennium." Well, as a person who prides herself on keeping current - just look at my feng shui colors! - that was just a low blow.

So I set out on my quest to get granite.

I have been a Boston public school teacher for more than 20 years, but last summer I taught summer school for the first time.

"Why are you teaching summer school?" someone asked. "Granite countertops" was my terse answer.

I had a quest. My eyes were on the prize. But, as quests and goals and prizes sometimes transpire, I didn't get my granite countertops.

My daughter, however, did get books for her classes at Syracuse University. Then I started to tutor some seniors in high school in writing their college essays. Aha, I thought. I will put this extra income aside, and now I'll get granite countertops.

Being a teacher and not a businesswoman, however, I had no idea how much to charge. So I charged nothing. Instead, I asked for references in hopes that through referrals I would get my fledgling business off the ground and then maybe make some money for my granite countertops.

Five outstanding references later, 14 bottles of wine, and an "Edible Fruit" arrangement that I shared with my fellow teachers, I am still eating dinner off Formica countertops and still strategizing ways to get granite.

Now I think I've got it.

Mr. John Henry, owner of the Red Sox, not my husband, this is my plan. You know that $16 million house you plan to tear down in Brookline? Can you look around? Somehow, I know, I know you must have granite countertops in that house. Can you maybe save them? I don't know, maybe tell the demo guy, "Hey, run those over to my bro' in Winchester." I'll send you our address.

We have never asked you for free tickets, or donations, or even an autograph, but Mr. Henry, Mr. "John Not My Husband" Henry, I would sure appreciate those countertops.

We'll cut them to fit, no problem.

Go Sox!