Memory Monday-My School Years

I am joining Retired Not Tired for Memory Monday

I went to the same schools all through my early years. My elementary school was right at the end of my street.  In those days the buildings housed K to 8th grade and I started in the first Kindergarten, the first year the school had opened.  The school was renamed and re-purposed to a middle school in the 90's.  

James Madison Elementary School

Since it was so close to home, it seemed we were always on the playground. I still have friends from school, as we all graduated and went on to the same high school.  As I worked on this post yesterday I found a few more on Facebook.

My mom was very active with the school and was often on campus when a room mother was needed. Which was somewhat problematic, if we wanted to fly under the radar.

We were the first graduating class that went through all the grades at the school.  That week of graduation, many of us got sick with the measles (no immunization in those days).  I had come in second in the graduation speech competition and had to be ready to step in, I was so scared that I would have to get up in front of everyone and speak, but I dutifully practiced, just in case.  Thankfully, Tommy H. was well enough to give the speech and I was reprieved.  We were both sick with the measles the next morning, so our summer vacation started by feeling poorly.   

The teachers through the years, were good but I the one I had that year, was truly dreadful, many of my insecurities began here.  I wrote about it before, that it was a defining moment in my life.

"However, if one counts the teachers who had a negative impact on me, it would be my 8th grade teacher, Mr. Ginsberg, I even remember his name after all these years.  I was on the chubby side when I was 12 or 13, I also was developing my breasts and was self conscious.  I tended to stand around with my arms crossed over my chest.  He called me Buddha, all the time,  and I was hugely embarrassed.  I guess I could have objected now, but at the time, the late 50's, there was no political correctness or anti harassment. It was bullying pure and simple. I guess he thought he was being funny....Not!  He was a terrible person and should not have been a teacher." 

When we moved back to California from Michigan, the kids were still in elementary school. We stayed with my folks for many months while we looked for a house, so DD1, went to 4th grade at the school. It was a few years after that, when the rebuilding and re-naming happened.  Mom and Dad had nothing but traffic and parking problems as the school grew. More memories of these years here and here.

I went to High School at SGHS and have written about it several times. They were not my best years, only OK.  I wouldn't go back to high school again for a million dollars.

Living on the Corner of Lead and Zinc - Saturday 9

If you're not familiar with today's song, you can hear it here.

1) Recorded by Johnny Cash, "Ring of Fire" was written by his wife, June Carter. Johnny's daughter Roseanne says it's about "the transformative power of their love." What's your favorite love song?  Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers.  All incarnations and covers..

2) Though more than 50 years old, this song is still popular today. Country Music Television named it one of the best and most requested of all time. Are you a country music fan?  Yes, I love most country music,  Johnny Cash is way up there with the classic artists.  I also love some of the newer singers.

3) This recording features mariachi horns, inspired by Mexican folk music. Have you ever been to Mexico?  Yes, living in CA, I have been over the border in Baja several times.  When I was 18 I went with a group tour to Mexico City and Acapulco. It was totally different from Baja California.

4) Cash's birth certificate said, "J. R. Cash," and "J.R." is what his parents always called him. When he enlisted in the Air Force, Uncle Sam refused to let him simply go by initials, so he chose the name "John." If you could choose a different name for yourself, what would it be?  My mom wanted to call me Suzanne, but my dad said no....I still wonder why.  In the 60's I changed my name from Kathy to Katie.


5) Cash and his first wife, Vivian, had their first date at a roller skating rink. Tell us about one of your first dates. Mr BC and I went to a drive-in movie on a double date for our first date. He was very polite, but I can't say much for the couple in the back seat.  We never dated with them again.  We saw The Loved One and Cheyenne Autumn.  He kissed me during the second movie.  

6) Cash died in September, 2003, four months after he lost his second wife, and love of his life, June. The cause of death given was complications from diabetes, but his children believe he died of a broken heart. Do you think that's possible? I think that happens a lot to long married older couples with health issues.  But short of a heart attack, I don't think so.  

7) Cash was known as "The Man in Black." What color do you wear most often? Pastel colors, pink, blue, yellow. I don't wear dark colors much now that I don't work.

8) There's a Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville. What's the last museum you visited? Crystal Bridges, it is an American art museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.  I wrote about it here.  It is a lovely spot to visit and is a great museum, you can visit for free.

9) A stretch of Tennessee Highway 31E is known as "Johnny Cash Parkway." What street in your town is named for a famous person? We have a Jefferson Street here in 'Craterville' (so called for our awful streets) I would assume it is for the president, of the same name.  We also have a Daugherty St. named for W.A. Daugherty, who opened up lead mines in the general area.  It has been a somewhat ugly area around the edges of our towns, ever since, until the government started cleaning up the chat piles and mines in the 90's.  We have a lot of streets named after miners and mines.

Chatting About Beans and Things

http://www.everydayruralty.com/

1.  Do you like beans? (the dried bean variety) What do you like them in? 

I mainly put beans in Chili. I am not really fond of beans.
2.  Does your house have enough storage?  

Yes, at last I live somewhere, that has enough. I have attic space on the

second floor and we have a storage shed.  The problem is that we moved

here 2 years ago and still have things in moving boxes since there was 

plenty of space to store them.  It is always something.

3.  Do you have any childhood memories of a store? 

I remember taking the bus downtown to shop at the Woolworth and  JCPenneys with my mother. This was before Malls.  I was running around the aisles when I ran into a woman, who knocked me down giving me a goose egg on my forehead.  She never even stopped to see if I was ok.  I know it was probably my fault, but she should have stopped for me.
4.  Do you ever shop at a farmers market? 
We have several local farmer's'markets close by.  I usually go to the one on      
Tuesday and sometimes the one on Saturday if I am out and about.  

5.  Do you still have your wisdom teeth? Are you wise? :) :) 
I had them removed thirty years ago and did not seem to lose any of my smarts.  I just had two broken teeth removed. One.....that had a crown. and the oral surgeon place an implant so I could have a tooth placed.  It is very noticeably missing and I want to improve my smile.  Also I broke a     bridge and had to have the broken anchor tooth pulled so they can place a   new bridge. If I had been wiser I would have taken better care of the teeth   that were left behind.  

Sunday Stealing

1. TV Theme songs. Which is your favorite, and which makes you crazy enough to hit mute on the remote? I really liked the theme from MASH, especially when I found out it was called Suicide is Painless....how ironic.  The theme song from Mr Ed was awful.  I don't think modern theme songs are as annoying, as I can't think of any off hand.  

2. The Classics. What is your favorite Classic TV show? The Andy Griffith Show and I Love Lucy.

3. What character from a Classic TV show would you like to be? 
I wanted to be Mary Richards from The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

4. Can you remember a line you liked from a Classic TV show?
"And that's the way it is" (Walter Cronkite, CBS Evening News)
"Jane, you ignorant slut" (Dan Aykroyd to Jane Curtin, Saturday Night Live) comes to mind as I just saw it recently.

5. Heroes. What show featuring those who protect your country (fiction or non-fiction) is your favorite? President Bartlet on West Wing.  When it was new, I was always wishing he was the real President.

6. TV Cops. Who is your favorite (past or present) TV cop? Barney Miller Which TV cop do you think was the most crooked?Michael Chiklis in The Shield or the most inept? Barney Fife!

7. You need to hire a bodyguard for yourself. Which TV cop do you choose?  Jim Rockford from The Rockford Files.  James Garner is a favorite of mine from his Maverick days.

8. TV Doctors. Which TV doctor would you choose to remove your appendix? Dr Ross from ER (George Clooney) Which TV doctor would you not let touch you with a 10- foot pole? Any of the doctors from The Mindy Project or Scrubs.

9. TV Moms. Which TV mom would you have liked to have had for your own? The Waltons Olivia Walton was very nurturing in tough times. Is there a TV mom you would never want as your own? Peg Bundy or January Jones as mom in Mad Men....as a 50's/60's mom....my mom was great.

10. TV Dads. Which TV Dad would you have most liked to have for your own dad? Andy Taylor he always had great advice for Opie. On the flipside, who was the TV Dad you’d have least liked to have had? Tony Soprano.

11. Comedies. How do you feel about sitcoms? Good, wholesome fun or saccharine inanity? Too many of the comedies make the dad the butt of all the jokes. There are a lot of them, I liked, along the way....I really liked the family in The Waltons.

12. If your life was a sitcom, what would the title be?
Katydid It!

13. If you went to a comedy club on amateur night, and they gave you some jokes and a microphone, would you go onstage? Nope!

14. Reality. Are you a fan of Reality TV? Not really, tho I am drawn to the show Hoarders. I think the folks on that show are psychologically fascinating and horrifying. What’s your “can’t miss” reality TV show (or shows), Anything on HGTV,  what reality TV show do you suppose the devil plays on the TV in Hell as punishment? The swapping wives shows....any of the housewives from hell shows.

15. If you were given a free ticket to be on any reality show, which one would you choose? I would like to have my home Crashed by Bathroom Crashers or Yard Crashers. 

....And I Thought the Cold War was Behind Us.

(Source: peterfromtexas)
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Chatting About This and That

1. Do you have any special plans for this week? I always have plans, but I am not so good at follow thru.  I want to finish fixing up my bathroom, which involves some hemming with iron on tape and hanging a new shelf....of course that was the plan last week.  It is raining for the next couple of days, so I have no reason to do something around the house.  I just have to get off the computer.

Sunday Stealing

What would you choose to be famous for? 
I would like to be famous for finding a cure for something serious.

If you have a webcam, are you ever paranoid people can see you? 
No, not really I am not sure how many kicks a voyeur would get of me sitting in my blue chair. I always close my computer when not in use.

Saturday 9: I'm a Believer

Thanks to Cie for recommending the Monkees

1) This song is about a guy who fell in love when he saw her face. Do you believe in love at first sight?

I think it might really be lust at first sight.

Where is my Flying Car, at the Very Least? Trifextra

The Trifextra prompt for this week is 33 words:

It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” ― Paulo Coelho, Alchemist

 

Perhaps for  My Grandsons

 

She dreamed of dancing to the stars

To  see worlds in galaxies afar.

So much promised

In her youth.

The millennium and proof

Of life nearby.

The dream is gone, but not forever.