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[Normandie]

On a weekend if we ad to do something my Dad would stand in the doorway and say "Rise and shine. Everybody up." He would gently say it over and over and over until you finally gave in! "Ok, ok ! I'm getting up!" He'd then walk away chuckling!

I posted this on the "What have you seen on YouTube" thread awhile back, but this is how things usually go with my kids......Things start out benign but then I end up like a screaming shrew LOL

"The Middle" TV show clip from the episode "The Front Door"

[KelMar]

this is how things usually go with my kids......Things start out benign but then I end up like a screaming shrew LOL

Boy can I relate! Sometimes I wonder why my kids didn't run away from home! But I guess that goes both ways. And it does get better. Not only did they not run away, they both returned! Ten years ago, when my daughter was 15, I would not have believed that this arrangement could ever work but I actually love having them here. It's not going to last forever but at least I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

[Normandie]

And it does get better. Not only did they not run away, they both returned! Ten years ago, when my daughter was 15, I would not have believed that this arrangement could ever work but I actually love having them here. It's not going to last forever but at least I get to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

That is so great, Kelley; I'm envious. I get so frustrated with the kids at times but of course I love them so much, and I hope they come back here to their hometown at some point.

[Hello Goodbye]

Sometimes I wonder why my kids didn't run away from home!

I went to a Hebrew parochial elementary school.  I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in second grade.  The Prince and The Pauper too.  Very impressive stuff in those books!  They became reference books for me.  Every school day was like running away from home.  I wasn't just reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, I was LIVING them!  It all culminated in sixth grade with The Prince and the Pauper Switcheroo involving me and a compatriot in a Catholic school a few blocks away.  The charade didn't last very long for either of us.   

[Normandie]

I went to a Hebrew parochial elementary school.  I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in second grade.  The Prince and The Pauper too.  Very impressive stuff in those books!  They became reference books for me.  Every school day was like running away from home.  I wasn't just reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, I was LIVING them! 

That's the attitude toward reading that I wish my kids would have! They just don't seem to get it (i.e, how a book can transport you away).

It all culminated in sixth grade with The Prince and the Pauper Switcheroo involving me and a compatriot in a Catholic school a few blocks away.  The charade didn't last very long for either of us.   

<laugh> That reminds me a bit of my son, whose best friend in Nevada was LDS. (We're Catholic.) They got talking about their religious education classes one day when they were kindergarten age and both ended up completely confused.

[Dcazz]

Ringorama!

[KelMar]

I went to a Hebrew parochial elementary school.  I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in second grade.  The Prince and The Pauper too.  Very impressive stuff in those books!  They became reference books for me.  Every school day was like running away from home.  I wasn't just reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, I was LIVING them!  It all culminated in sixth grade with The Prince and the Pauper Switcheroo involving me and a compatriot in a Catholic school a few blocks away.  The charade didn't last very long for either of us.   

I remember hearing about that Switcheroo and some of your other exploits as well, including your frank admission to the teacher that you were telling your friend the answers for the test questions. That was very Tom Sawyer-ish of you.

[Hello Goodbye]

I remember hearing about that Switcheroo and some of your other exploits as well, including your frank admission to the teacher that you were telling your friend the answers for the test questions. That was very Tom Sawyer-ish of you.

Right, Kelley.  The Catholic school boys had neat blazers with their school insignia.  We didn't have any school uniforms.  So we switched clothes...and schools for the day.  It was just a matter of time until we got caught.  The priest who walked me back to my school and to collect my friend was chuckling.  He must have been a kid once too and read The Prince and the Pauper.  My principal was p*ssed.  I added to his annoyance when I asked if it would be OK if I wore the blazer the rest of the day.

I was taught it was polite to share.  So if I knew the answers to test questions, I would offer my assistance to those seated near me who were having trouble with the test.  Anyway, it was the school's fault for showing us The Adventures of Robin Hood movie.  I was "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor."  That movie opened up a whole new treasure chest of exploits for me to add to my repertoire.   

Robin Hood (1938) famous scene

[Hello Goodbye]

Ha!  There were a few Sidney-types in my school who just didn't get it!

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) - 1/9 - {HQ}

"Aunt Polly!  Aunt Polly!"   

[Normandie]

Right, Kelley.  The Catholic school boys had neat blazers with their school insignia.  We didn't have any school uniforms.  So we switched clothes...and schools for the day.  It was just a matter of time until we got caught.

Omigosh, so you actually switched? How fun!   

[Hello Goodbye]

That's the attitude toward reading that I wish my kids would have! They just don't seem to get it (i.e, how a book can transport you away).

Samuel Clemens was a genius!

"Mississippi Sounding Calls" - Joe Shores

"Mark Twain!"

[Hello Goodbye]

Omigosh, so you actually switched? How fun! 

Yup!  Ya can't do this kinda stuff in public school that's fersure!

[KelMar]

The priest who walked me back to my school and to collect my friend was chuckling.  He must have been a kid once too 

I was "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor."  That movie opened up a whole new treasure chest of exploits for me to add to my repertoire.   

You're funny! But I'm almost afraid to know what kind of exploits you learned from Robin Hood! I'm sure you weren't an insolent rascal; just enough of a rascal to give a saint the conniptions.

Ha!  There were a few Sidney-types in my school who just didn't get it!

I got that sort of thing but I'd never do it. I always liked your type when I was in school though. I was never brave enough to do that stuff myself but I enjoyed seeing it done. I guess I sort of felt that the school and my parents deserved a break after what my brother put them all through! He was lucky he was cute, that one.

[KelMar]

That reminds me a bit of my son, whose best friend in Nevada was LDS. (We're Catholic.) They got talking about their religious education classes one day when they were kindergarten age and both ended up completely confused.

I taught first grade in a Catholic school for several years. As a Protestant I was quite nervous at first, especially since the principal was a force to be reckoned with. When First Friday rolled around and I had to take the kids to Mass I didn't know what to expect from them behavior-wise. They were little angels though! The Holy Spirit was at work for sure! Then the next big thing was a visit from the bishop. My husband, who was raised Catholic, had me convinced right up until the day before that I had to kiss the bishop's ring!

[Hello Goodbye]

That was very Tom Sawyer-ish of you.

Ha!  There were a few Sidney-types in my school who just didn't get it!


The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) - 1/9 - {HQ}

"Aunt Polly!  Aunt Polly!"   

You didn't have to be a boy to be a Sidney-type.  Naomi was the teacher's pet in fifth grade.  She was a marshal with her white shoulder strap and tin badge and all.  During a fire drill, she pulled me out of line on a landing as we were going down the stairs.

What do you want?
I'm reporting you for talking during a fire drill.
Lemme alone!
What's your name?
You know my name!  We've been in the same class for five years!
What's your name?
Naomi, cut the crap!
What's your name?

She had her pen on a page of her little spiral notebook poised for my response.  I grabbed her pen and notebook and threw them down the stairwell where they landed four flights down in the lobby.  She ran off crying...

Mrs. Weinstein!  Mrs. Weinstein!
Hey Naomi!  Marshals aren't supposed to cry!

Naomi was cute with her long brown hair and all.  She definitely had potential but she just had to be a stupid teacher's pet.  In the end, even teachers get tired of that stuff...

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) - 9/9 - {HQ}

5:50

[Hello Goodbye]

You're funny! But I'm almost afraid to know what kind of exploits you learned from Robin Hood! I'm sure you weren't an insolent rascal; just enough of a rascal to give a saint the conniptions.

It culminated in this type of behavior, Kelley.  The fifth and sixth grade classes had morning services in the lunchroom/auditorium every day.  Toward the end of services, someone would take the charity box around and all the kids would drop a few coins in.  Then he had to immediately take the box upstairs and leave it on the principal's desk and come right back down.  The rumor was that the principal took some of that money to go on vacations.  Well, that was enough for me!  I volunteered to take the box around.  It had a wide coin slot and I would carry the box upside down up the three flights of stairs.  On the way back down, I would pick up whatever coins fell out.  During lunch, I would go over to the GO Store and buy whatever number of Hershey bars that change would buy.  Then I went to my classroom where those students who brought lunch with them would eat.  "Who wants a Hershey bar?"

I did this a few times until I finally got caught by one of the teachers who happened to be on the stairway.  "Welcome to Sherwood!" I said and put my hands on my hips.  He grabbed a hold of my ear and pulled me up the stairs and sat me down on the wooden bench outside the principal's office and told me to wait right there for him.  Fat chance I would do that!  After he left, I walked off to see what other mischief I could get into.  I figured I was going to be punished that day so I might as well do enough to warrant it.   

[Normandie]

I taught first grade in a Catholic school for several years. As a Protestant I was quite nervous at first, especially since the principal was a force to be reckoned with. When First Friday rolled around and I had to take the kids to Mass I didn't know what to expect from them behavior-wise. They were little angels though! The Holy Spirit was at work for sure!

Yikes, I'd be nervous teaching in a school of a different religion than my own, too. I'm glad to hear the kids behaved! I still have to elbow my two daughters when they inevitably start to whisper at some point.

Then the next big thing was a visit from the bishop. My husband, who was raised Catholic, had me convinced right up until the day before that I had to kiss the bishop's ring!

   I got a bit of mileage out of teasing my daughters that the bishop would hit them in the face at confirmation. (They just tap your cheek.) 

[Normandie]

She had her pen on a page of her little spiral notebook poised for my response.  I grabbed her pen and notebook and threw them down the stairwell where they landed four flights down in the lobby.  She ran off crying...

<laugh> You were quite the rascal, it seems!    But a kind one. I still remember your anecdote about sticking up for one girl the teacher was being unkind to.

[Hello Goodbye]

I got that sort of thing but I'd never do it. I always liked your type when I was in school though. I was never brave enough to do that stuff myself but I enjoyed seeing it done.

Well, that's a boy thing, Kelley.  Girls don't do stuff like that.  In retrospect, I did those things for one of two reasons; I was either bored or trying to impress some girl.

They kicked me out of that school at the end of sixth grade.  They built a new junior high school right next door and I guess they didn't want it to become another Sherwood Forest.  The girl I liked most, Joyce, came to that school from public school the same time I did.  We had similar backgrounds not being from very observant families.  We were also at a disadvantage when we started in that school in second grade as the others had been there since kindergarten.  We had a new language to learn and the teacher sat us together up front so she could help us. 

I didn't see her again until I started college.  Once again we were in the same school!  "You didn't have to try so hard to impress me, Barry" she said as she gave me a kiss.  Joyce was one of the most intelligent and perceptive people I've ever known. 

[Hello Goodbye]

<laugh> You were quite the rascal, it seems!    But a kind one. I still remember your anecdote about sticking up for one girl the teacher was being unkind to.

Yeah, Kathleen.  I couldn't bear to watch girls get punished.  I would do whatever was necessary to divert the teacher's wrath toward me.  Just like Tom Sawyer!

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) - 3/9 - {HQ}

 



Come to think of it,  I did this stuff when I was in kindergarten way before I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Rather than write it again, here's the link to the story I told Sondra, who is an elementary school teacher, a few years ago:  http://www.dmbeatles.com/forums/index.php?topic=5457.msg226266#msg226266

Mr. Clemens would have been proud of me.