Remembering The Past
Once upon an afternoon dreary, I was feeling quite the leery, about shoveling off my front stairs.
Most of the tracks had shuttered, nothing to do I muttered, but remember my past, who cares?
As I think back, it’s been nearly 60 years since I graduated from high school. My alma mater, where the steps were so worn they looked like Conestoga wagon-train ruts on The Oregon Trail, dated back centuries. The teachers, all men, were called “Masters”. Their desks were perched on a pedestal. If you were a “bad boy” - which I was, occasionally - you received misdemeanor marks (they went on your permanent record).
Looking back, I went to high school with some clever guys. Every few months, a school magazine came out called The Register.
My copies of those “Registers” have gone to their literary reward. Yet, I still remember some of the articles. One segment was called: “Overheard In…” For example, Overheard in Room 236: Teacher: “What is the meaning of the word bovine? Student: “Holy cow!” How should I know? Or, Overheard in Room 112: Teacher: “Who invented the Polaroid Camera?” Student: “Land sakes, how should I know?”
Then, there were those corny stories: A hermit is sleeping on a deserted island. A group of terns, seagull-like birds, are making a racket. The hermit, awakened by the noisy terns, picks up some rocks and starts stoning the terns. Several are either killed or injured. When the hermit finally falls asleep, the surviving terns come back and start pecking furiously at the hermit with their bills, killing him. The moral: Never Leave A Tern Unstoned! Who thinks of these things?
Finally, there was the challenge to use the word “that” five straight times in a sentence. He said, “That that that that that boy used was incorrect.”
Enough!
__________________
Walt (Teach)
"Walt, make a 'mental bet' and lose your mind." R.N.S.
"The important thing is what I think of myself."
"David and Lisa" (1962)
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