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It’s Vengeance She said, That’s the law By fifth grade, we’ve had to deal with her ego-eccentric behavior for 5 years and 8+ programs for the adults. I remember one had us crooning about scientific things, like rocks, evaporation, and the colors of the rainbow; oh joy. Another was a sing along show with songs… Continue reading Music Class: The Worm Turns

or, ‘Teacher Leave those kids alone’ When it comes to the worst teacher I had, it’s no contest. The Music Teacher. Which is odd, cause I’ve been collecting rock and jazz music for over 50 years. Mrs. H had a long horse face, a third-eye cheek mole and a frozen hair perm. She favored blouses… Continue reading Music Class–A Tale of Revenge in 2 Acts

Who, me? It was such a big deal. Newspapers wrote about it, parents debated it. Latch key children: a fancy media term for kids who had their own house key after school. Elementary schools, as a matter of policy, always found ways to hold on to kids after 3:30, for a half hour or so.… Continue reading Latch-Key Children

Let’s call this mess “Lessons in tactile sensations” So you ask: ‘WTF does that 50-cent word have to do with anything?’ Well, companies seemed to delight in making crap that had no use but to be handled. case in point: Silly Putty” The flesh-colored goo had the consistency of tacky caulk, or semi-hard Tootsie Rolls.… Continue reading Toys! (Part two)

Figuratively and Literally Our beloved playground was going to open on Memorial Day. Construction on the road began in the fall. Our huge fifth grade windows opened right onto the vista of the construction. Things were bad enough for that poor bastard who taught us. Paper airplanes in the hanging lights. Boys making rude noises,… Continue reading Concentration goes out the Window

I love the smell of Charcoal in the morning, smells like roadkill When charcoal took hold in the sixties, it was like a wave. Overnight, it seemed everybody bought an outdoor grill and started cooking. You could ride your bike down the street between 4 and 6 PM and the smell chased you home. We… Continue reading The Wonderful World of Charcoal

‘Return with me to when times were best’ As we started our journey, I told you guys my room was upstairs, far from mom and dad; I guess sleeping was more important. Home Air conditioning was in its infancy in the 50’s. So all my windows were open at night and the bedroom across the… Continue reading Nights of Heaven, Nights of Hell

And other body parts, too…….. As time passed, mom started buying daddy birthday/Xmas presents like gadgets and oddball tools. He never said word one about what he wanted (other than a new son, I suppose), so she just took the old ‘throw enough shit against the wall, something will stick’ tactic. Maybe third or fourth… Continue reading The Radio that saved my ass

When they said pull down, I threw up What a day that was. We walked into a newly-built classroom, a new library four times the size of the other one, and our first male teacher. He seemed as tall as Zeus. Head as shiny as a new penny……….or, as shiny as my head now. The… Continue reading Fifth Grade!

“Hanging out shirts in the dirty breeze” Oh sure, you see movies about the old West and women are hanging out wash, but it wasn’t that long ago that everyone did it, all over America. Our houses all came with a wash line–and I mean every one. It was a must-have. Not having one was… Continue reading Washlines