“Thou hast most traitorously corrupted the youth of the realm in erecting a grammar school.”
Rain is coming, of course it is on this warm day, a day in the 50’s. I went out on the deck and was appalled by my yard. Trash, stolen by Nala, was mostly chewed into pieces, except for the paper plates. They looked like flying saucers in a B science fiction movie. A bag of cans had opened, and Coke cans were strewn about the yard. I imagined a crowd of my neighbors carry flaming torches and demanding I clean the yard. I did so the yard is now presentable, and the crazed crowd has dispersed. Pine branches are all that are left. They need a chipper.
When I think back to grammar school, a few nuns and teachers come to mind. My second grade teacher, Mrs. Kerrigan, could have been the poster woman for teachers in the 1950’s. She had white hair in a bun and always wore a flowered dress and clunky black laced shoes. She stooped a little. She was soft spoken. In the third grade I had the nun who told me not to sing during the May procession. She took some joy away. Miss Konopacka in the fourth grade was stern. She had gone to school with my aunt. I didn’t mind her but my sisters hated her. Sister Eileen Marie in the fifth grade was huge. She mostly sat at her desk. She gave candy as rewards for answering questions. She had favorites. I wasn’t one of them. Miss Quilter in the sixth grade was my favorite. She gave me a love of learning. She gave me a sense of curiosity about words and language. Sister Hildegard, in the eighth grade, had already gone past her use-by date. I’ll never forget that year. I was a favorite and got away with everything. I left school, with permission from her, and sometimes never went back. I hid my brown lunch bag and went out for lunch. Many times I arrived back late from lunch. She never cared. She didn’t even like us.
Today I have to clean downstairs. The dust balls whirl into the air when I walk down the hall. I could write clean me on the table dust. On my dance card, besides uke, I only have my dump run. That’s for tomorrow. I can hardly wait says I tongue in cheek.
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March 2, 2024 at 1:12 pm
Hi Kat,
The calendar says March, but the weather prognosticators are saying May. The sky is clear and the predicted high should reach 81°. We actually had our AC running last month when we hit 90°. 😦
I only remember one of my elementary school teacher’s name, Mrs. Lahamadu. I may have misspelled it. She was my third grade teacher with whom I had a kid crush upon. Also, she introduced me to reading books which is a passion I have continued to this very day. I can picture in my mind some of the other teachers from elementary school, but their names have long since faded from my memory banks. Most of them fit your description.
During most of January and February we had a black cat visiting on our patio furniture. My wife is terribly allergic to cat dander. About a week ago, there was a very loud noise from the street behind our fence. My wife described it like a compressed air horn sound amplified through a bullhorn. The cat hasn’t been seen since. Both my wife and daughter are going to a bridal shower this afternoon, I have been left with strict instructions on how to clean the black cat hair off of the patio sofa cushions and dispose of anything that might come in contact with cat hair or dander. We ordered a couple of rolls of sticky sheets from Amazon to gather the hairs and dander. This is my project for the weekend.
March 2, 2024 at 9:35 pm
Hi Bob,
We have has rain most of the afternoon into now. It is in the mid 40’s. Tomorrow will be much like today. I would not like your weather this early in the year. I wouldn’t even like it in July.
Every other year I had nuns in grammar school. They were just like any teachers, some were good teachers while some were not.
I had wonderful teachers in high school, all nuns. I only had a couple of them who were boring. One was my biology teacher. She was quite nice but just so boring. I went to a great high school two towns away from my town.
I used to be allergic to both dogs and cats. Dogs even gave me a rash when I patted them. Now I have no allergies. All the shots were worth it. My spring allergies are also gone.
I didn’t clean. I did grocery shop,and that’s quite an accomplishment
March 2, 2024 at 11:47 pm
Unfortunately, my wife never went to an allergist. Early in our relationship I mentioned going to one. Her response reminds me to never bring up that subject again.
March 3, 2024 at 8:17 pm
i wonder why. It was one of my better choices. I had no more spring allergies, and mine were awful.