>So Mr. Burton's TRS-80s were probably the first microcomputers I used,
>and although I remember little enough of first grade clearly, that
>holy-shit-look-at-that sensation from running that first absurdly
>simple BASIC program everyone attempted in those days,
>
>10 PRINT "HELLO";
>20 GOTO 10
>
>remains with me still.

I had a very similar experience, only it was about five years later and it was on my dad's "Osborne" luggable that he bought for WordStar (remember WordStar?) but which came with all sorts of weird stuff. Such as a FORTH interpreter, and this book, which explains that rather peculiar language with cartoons. At one point, having just told you how to write a loop, the book suggests that you type

1000 0 DO CR ." I'M GOING LOOPY!" LOOP

"Go on, execute it! How often do you get to tell anyone to do something a thousand times?"

>Just now, I was thinking about it again,
>and decided to see if Google could tell me what ever became of Mr.
>Elliot Burton, who moved away many years ago to seek greener pastures
>in better-funded, less-stupidly-administered school districts.
>
>And it did. It told me, in fact, that he died.
>
>Yesterday.

Aw man. You have my sympathies.