Friday, June 6, 2008

Ramblings

During the late 50’s and early 60’s with Rock and Roll in its infancy was a time like none other. We were not part of the peace crowd – they came along after us. We were part of the “Happy Day’s” crowd where Do Wop music was the rage and cruising was our past time. After all gasoline was only around 25 cents a gallon. We were patriotic and family proud besides looking for a good time. The music, the emotions, and the feelings of my youth are just as alive now as they were over forty years ago. I guess that life is a lot like a movie in many regards. We can select rewind and our brain will let us view again excerpts from our past that give us pleasure. My youthful teen years are still fresh on my mind. What I thought and felt along with the sensory elements are all still easy to replay. Why so vivid? I’m sure a lot of the remembrance involves happy elements of our lives but everything was not rosy during this time either. Sure, life was less complicated then than now and it was a great and exciting era to be part of but with the constant threat of nuclear extermination over our heads this era also had its problems.
I remember my high school years pretty much like they only happened yesterday. I remember particular football games and exciting plays along with the feelings and aromas associated. I remember when our football team would leave the locker room for the approximately 200-yard trek to the playing field. I remember the lights and the crowd encouraging us as we entered the field – the young kids lined up to give a hand slap as we went past feeling like warriors going to battle. I remember on cool damp evenings a cloud of steam, cigar smoke, and the smells of popcorn, hot dogs, and cigars were in the air hanging just above the playing field. Friday night football games in small southern towns were a community event along with a sometimes-social occasion. Everyone came!
As for my education, I especially remember my high school English class taught by a very proper “old maid” teacher named “Miss Nell Baker.” Miss Nell was a stickler for grammar and took her teaching of English very seriously. I looked at English class as a necessary evil in my high school education but always wondered how knowing how to diagram a sentence properly would help me find a better job? Little did I know! Miss Nell knew that most of her students did not understand her class’s importance but she did not let that deter her in the least. She would not tolerate improper use of the language showed no tolerance for lack of interest. She constantly challenged us both in class and outside class to properly apply the English language. With our small community it was not uncommon to be corrected by Miss Nell at the grocery store or at church. She was able to teach in this manner because all of her students knew that her efforts were sincere and her motives pure. She genuinely cared for her students and was greatly concerned for our futures. She practiced what she preached and her dedication was never questioned. In her classes all was not work and grind – she always allowed time for discussion. Some would tease her about being an old maid and asking her if she ever dated anyone? I remember her sad smile at these comments and she would go on to relate that her youth was a lot like ours except for the differences in the music and transportation methods. We could not imagine that! We did not understand her comments at the time and never thought much about it. Now when I am around younger people and they ask me a similar question – I now understand her feelings. I wish I could thank her for her putting up with me for four years. She has passed on but her influence affected my life more than any other teacher in either high school or college. I remember in my senior year of high school when I made the decision to go to college she told me that I would probably fail because most colleges at that time used English Composition as a tool to weed out unproductive students. I was really upset by her comments and never forgot them. I worked my butt off that first semester with English Comp and made an “A” in the course where many others from large high schools throughout the state failed miserably. At that time I realized that my small town education from a country school was as good as anyone obtained from the more popular larger schools. On my first trip back to my little home community I remember driving by her house and seeing Miss Nell sitting on her patio reading. I walked up to her patio greeted her and immediately showed her my grade report. When she saw the “A” in English Comp she looked up at me and with a smile said, “I knew that you could do it.” I’m sure I appeared confused by her comment so she added with a smile, “I knew that you needed to be challenged.” She was a proper Southern lady who showed class in everything she did. Her approach to teaching could well serve education if it was closely followed today.
I never returned to my high school after that date. I’ m not sure why? I guess I just
wanted to leave these times in my memory bank as they were. Why spoil these “happy days” by reentering them? I suppose I took “you can’t go home again” to extremes.
Joe

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