Life’s Lessons
I was absolutely horrified! My mom had just told me I would
be starting Kindergarten in a few weeks.
She informed me all of the kids that I had grown up with; Bobby, Kenny,
Michael and Ricky would be attending St. Patrick’s Catholic School while I
would be attending Dublin Elementary, the local public school with my neighbor,
Little Betty, who was a year older so she wouldn’t even be in my class. I would
know no one and would have to make new friends.
This was not something I looked forward to and it was a huge stress in
my young life for the next few weeks.
I knew my friends went
to a different church on Sunday but had no idea it would determine where we
went to school. I went to the Community
Church where everyone was invited and each Sunday we sang “Jesus Loves the Little
Children of the World.” I was sure I was one of those little children and hand
painted a ceramic figurine for my mom saying exactly that.
Well the first day of school came and we loaded in the old
Chevy and headed for the school, several miles away. Dad drove with mom in the
passenger seat and me between them. Mom
had dressed me in my best shirt with the little boats on it, jeans with cuffs
and my new leather shoes. My mom wore a long skirt that day that draped to her
ankles. These long skirts were special for me.
You see my dad worked nights at General Motors so I was home with mom in
the evening. Sometimes she would let me
stay up late to watch “Shock Theatre” which was the classic horror movies of
the time. When this happened, Mom would
sit on the couch and I would sit on the floor between her feet watching TV and when
the scary parts came I would pull that long skirt over my head until just my
face was sticking out. This is how I
felt safest. It seemed like the trip to school took about 20 seconds and before
I knew it I was walking in the door with mom while dad waited in the car
enjoying a Lucky Strike.
The hallway seemed to be a mile long and filled with kids and
parents all signing up to be run through the U.S. Education System. It was scary to me. Mom took me into the principles’ office where
I was sure my demise would take place.
The principle was a scary man. He
was heavy set with thick glasses and a brown suit. Most of his hair was missing
and he had a very serious look about him, no smiling allowed. While mom made
the arrangements for the hand-off I found a back door to the principles’ office
and made a run for the car.
Upon arriving at the car my dad said “boy, you better get
back in that school.” Realizing she had
an escapee, mom wasn’t far behind and lead me back to what I was sure was the
gallows.
Going back down that long hallway I spotted a woman. She looked much friendlier than the
principle. I didn’t know it yet but Mrs.
Franklin would be my Kindergarten teacher.
Her smile lit up the whole building.
About halfway down the hallway my mom pulled me aside and bent down to
talk to me. She told me one of the most
important things I would ever learn in my life when she said “just be nice and
people will like you.” The way she looked at me I could tell this was very
important and needed to be something that I could do. Then she took me on down the hall and passed
me off to Mrs. Franklin and her big smile.
I watched and wiped my eyes as her long skirt and my childhood safety swayed
down the hall. Somehow Mrs. Franklin
already knew my name and welcomed me to the class room. I had never seen so
many kids my age in one place but now I knew the secret; just be nice and
people would like me. So, I did and they
did.
I got through that first day and even saw Little Betty when
we went outside for recess. This made me
feel more at home. Mrs. Franklin was a
lot like my mom, kind and loving, down to earth and authentic. The day went by fast and soon Mrs. Franklin
walked us to the buses and somehow she knew my bus was #6 where I sat next to
Little Betty and headed home. The bus
let us off in front of Little Betty’s house. I was amazed how all these adults
seemed to know where we lived and when to stop the bus. The bus stop was a short jog to home. My friends and I met in the ball field next
to my house to tell the stories of our first day at school. My buds told me they said prayers and were
afraid of someone called nun. It sounded
scary to me.
As time went by I started to enjoy school and looked forward
to going. I made many friends and realized
how important my mom’s words were to me and what a huge impact they had on my
life. My mom could give a good lesson to people of the world today. “Just be nice and people will like you.” It seems simple but what a better world we
would have if everyone would practice my mom’s life lessons.
