Catchy title. Reel in those 10 or so readers and then pull a swerve. The old bait and switch. The real title would be more like "Trying To Remember the Best Day You Ever Had in School" which seems sort of lame. Because that is what I'm going to do with this post. My schooldays keep getting farther and farther past and my memories are corroding like an old D Cell battery left in some forgotten toy. You open the hinge where the batteries go (if the toy still has the hinge) and you see this goopy looking mess that must have been oozing out for years. You want to touch it, but you think again...maybe I better not. What the hell. I'm here. You're here. Let's do this. Here's a spontaneously composed look through 6 years of school. When I find some time I'll cover the next 6. Yes, I do have a college degree, but I'm not about to try and remember those years.
1st grade: I remember getting in trouble for talking. I'd have to sit right by my teacher's desk facing the rest of the class. So I would then make faces at them. And get in even more trouble. I missed almost 6 weeks of school due to chicken pox and mumps which I got just weeks apart. My teacher, Mrs. Wilson, drove a green AMC Gremlin. My best day ever was probably near the end of the school year when they brought in the movie projector to show a film. That was not unusual, but this film was very long. I'm almost certain it took up two spools. It was filmed in beautiful color and was contemporary. Yet, here's the thing: I recall it fleetingly in my mind and have no clue on the title. It was an educational film - I remember there was parts about danger signs, but it wasn't just about safety. I have searched for this movie ever since and may never find it, but if I do come across it and get to see it again, it will take me back to that day in 1st grade.
2nd grade: Once again I was a troublemaker. I would get slapped on my hand with a yardstick which was no fun. Mrs. Dunston would also make me sit by the chalkboard away from the other kids. My best memory was easy. I created a poster of the Jack and the Beanstalk story which won 2nd prize in a reading/art contest. They had the awards/show at night so it was super neat to be in Mitchell-Neilson Primary after hours. I dressed up in a Native American costume for some reason. My prize was a book called Sylvester, The Mouse with the Musical Ear. I still have that book all these years later.
3rd grade: There were so many great days in this year of school for me. I learned how to play chess. I learned how to play Dungeons & Dragons. I read The Hobbit. I made many friends. I dressed up as Ben Franklin for a class performance and ended up cracking up laughing in front of all the parents who came to our little program. I guess the best day was when I won the penmanship award for best cursive writing. My print writing had been atrocious. I would purposely make letters with squiggly lines and it drove my teacher Mrs. Jennings batty. So, she was astonished when I learned cursive perfectly. The award was a dollar bill and it has never been spent. My mother put it in one of the class photos of me and there it is still.
4th grade: Mrs. Vick reading Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH was really cool. We also studied Ancient Greek mythology which led to a classroom battle between Trojans and Greeks. I led the Trojans and anytime the teacher left the room we got out our rulers and sword fights ensued. One of the craziest memories is when a classmate who sat one seat over from me puked up whatever she had for lunch and it covered her desk and the two next to her. Whew! She almost got me. The most traumatic memory was losing the class spelling bee on the word shriek. The best one was our field trip to the Parthenon in Nashville as part of the Greek mythology studies. My best friend Jaime took photos that day and decades later I would find a photo she took of me that day on her Facebook page.
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