The Good, The Bad, and the Funny

Always looking for ways to shape 9-year-old Adam's character, I challenged him to give his thoughts on what he considered good things to do, bad things to do, and funny things to do.  These are his observations, with my thoughts in parenthesis:

Good Things to Do--

1. Clean up a water mess. (He was remembering the time he put the hose through the pet door, filled the garage with water and when questioned, said we had hit an iceberg.)
2. Use a small amount of shampoo.
3. If I win, say,"You are a good player.  Want to play again?" (instead of,  "Lo-o-o-ser!")
4. Be nice to friends while they are here.
5. Take turns on Super Nintendo.
6. Don't make fun of people

Bad Things to Do--

1. Sneeze on top of Mom's spaghetti.
2. Punch a friend in the head or stomach.
3. Pour syrup on my friend's shoes.
4. Do not share.
5. Do not give them a drink.
6. Ride Mom's exercise bike while eating.

Funny Things to Do--

1. Tell jokes!
2. Draw a random design and let your friend make it into a picture.
3. Look at scrapbooks.
4. Draw a picture of Janet. (not flattering)
5. Draw a funny picture.  (Like the one that arrived home from school in his backpack labeled "censored" of him with atomic buggers.)

Behind the Blackboards in 1907

        

When contractors began work on four classrooms of Emerson High School in Oklahoma, they knew their remodel would improve education 

        — but they never expected it would impact local history. 

        Looking to upgrade the rooms with new whiteboards 

        and smartboards, the workers had to first remove the 

        outdated chalkboards. But when they began to pull 

        away the old boards, they made a startling discovery.

        Beneath the current boards rested another set of 

        chalkboards — untouched for nearly 100 years. Protected 

        and totally undisturbed, the century-old, writings and 

        drawings looked like they were made just yesterday. 

        Here, a November calendar rolls into December. A turkey 

        marks the celebration of Thanksgiving. 

A multiplication table gives us a glimpse into the curriculum and 

          methods taught in 1917, techniques perhaps lost in the passage 

          of time. When regarding a wheel of multiplication, Principal Sherry 

          Kishore told The Oklahoman, “I have never seen that technique 

          in my life.” 

           

But Oklahoma City school officials aren't just shocked by what is written, but how it is written. Penmanship like this is clearly a lost art. This board reads, “I give my head, my heart, and my life to my God and One nation indivisible with justice for all.” 

            

Within each of the four rooms, the subject matter and lessons mirrored one another — indicating, as an Oklahoma Public School Twitter caption reads, “aligned curriculum in 1917.” 

              

And though the boards’ style and subject matter might be unfamiliar to younger folks, they certainly resonate with older generations. Principal Kishore told The Oklahoman what it was like to show her 85-year-old mother the boards: “She just stood there and cried. She said it was exactly like her classroom was when she was going to school.” 

              

But these boards actually predate Principal Kishore’s mother by 13 years. Two dates were found on the boards: November 30, 1917, 

and December 4, 1917.

                

Some of the writings and drawings were done by students, while others were made by teachers — but it’s not always clear whose is whose.

                  

Regardless, the work is a striking look into days long gone. While reading the boards — like this one listing “My Rules To Keep Clean” — the past comes alive in a very personal way. 

                       

English teacher Cynthia Comer told The Oklahoman, “It was so eerie because the colors were so vibrant it looked like it was drawn the same day. To know that it was drawn 100 years ago… it’s like you're going into a looking glass into the past.” 

Built in 1895, Emerson High School has seen many renovations and improvements throughout the years--but nothing like this has eve been discovered.  When removing old chalkboards in the past, contractors have only found broken pipes and wires, so this is a shocking surprise.  Oklahoma City and the school district are now working to preserve these beautiful boards.

Hopefully, the spirit of these teachers and their students will be enjoyed for many years to come. Who knew that scribbles on a chalkboard could become such a precious piece of history.

Confession

I found this note on the stove one morning from Adam age 9.

1. I put the shampoo on the floor and on the toylet.
2. I thought a rober might come in.
3. I'm really sorry of what I did.

Thanks to Adam, I suppose, we never did have a robber.

Here are Adam and Frank in 1995.

I Buy My First Old Postcard

I was with Mama in 1981 at an old rundown antique shop (the kind with farm implements) when I saw a big box of old postcards.  There were hundreds of them! I spent the rest of my time there looking at them, front and back.  Finally I picked only one, and I have loved it ever since.  It had a lovely 46 star U.S. flag on the front, but I bought it because of the message written by a young mother in 1911:

Dear Sister,

Must forgive us for not writing. I am nearly dead with dysentery and the baby has the worst case of measles you ever saw on anybody.  Weighs 10 1/2 lb. is 6 mo. old.  We are expecting the boys to have them next week.

Lovingly, Vista

At that time, I was 31 and Rebecca and Janet were little.  My heart went out to that poor mother and her children.  I prayed for them although the children would be in their 70's by then, and their mother about 95.

Do you know of another rectangle of cardboard that can move a person that much?

Chris' sister,  Marianne

(age 10) writes about their 
brother Peter at age 2

Peter is very nice even though he pulls my hair and he also bites and pinches  he is always into mistrif”.  One of the times he through mamas bilfold out the window 2” times he put it in the tolet once with a 10 dollar bill in it.  Onee when you were very small and didnt know how to open the door (at least nobody thought he could) he got out every body was looking for you they look all over in the house but you werent there finily they looked out side in the rain and there you were soking weet sitting down in the sand.  Onee when you just come from the Hospital and were taking your nap Reg and Janet snuck in your room and Reg wasnt spots to but he picked you up and dropp you on the big bed then momey comes in and gets rill mad.  Once you ate a hole bottle of pills and hade to have your stomak pumped ouT.  When you were taking a nap you got up when mama was asleep and ran away, when you were sitting in the street with sand and mud that was black I was riding on my bike and saw you I took you home and boy was mama surprised.  We went to the a&p once and Peter me Chris and Janet stadey in the car you turned on the car and we started baking up and going into this big hiway the people across the street starting yeling and pointing mama finilny came out and stopped the car just in time

Peter is 2” years old He is only a baby we call hem Petey Bo
I love hem vary much I am 10”years old

When Adam was Nine

1995. This is Adam in the middle with his buddies, Jon Martin and Matt Hunt on either side.

Here is what I wrote to my friend, Martha, in Oklahoma at the time this photo was taken: 

"Hi Martha, 

You asked about Adam so here goes.  Adam is nine and in the third grade.  He got a new bike for Christmas and it is red and black, his favorite colors. He has already made big plans for the upstairs since he will be the only one up there when Janet goes off to college next year.  He plans to call his bedroom the 'East Wing' and her bedroom the 'West Wing'. I don't know how to describe Adam except to say that he is kind of a scientific nerdy-wad that everybody likes. He thinks about the speed of light and square roots and adds up big numbers in his head. He jumps up from the dinner table to look things up in the encyclopedia.

Adam is very picky about food, suspicious of any kind of sauces, and doesn't trust anything that comes out of a crockpot.  He likes spaghetti, chili, corn dogs and taco salad. Ketchup is practically a beverage.  If a corn dog weighs 4 ounces, it requires 4 ounces of ketchup. Tomatoes are the only vegetable he likes.  He likes apples and red Jell-O. Basically he likes mostly red stuff.  Frank and I would love to take him to Washington D.C. and just let him pick out the things he would like to see.  We are hoping to do that before he gets to the stage that he will not claim us as parents."

Note: The following summer we did take him to D.C.  When Janet went off to college he told me he was sad and missed her.  I told him she is always with us in our hearts, but he said still, he wished he had a solid molecular structure of her.  He's so mushy.

Fast forward 16 years.  

Here is Adam getting his PhD. in chemistry.

Easter 2014 

The Lord is Risen!

Theo's first Easter
Two months old

Diana's mother, Carmen, gave me 

this beautiful Easter dress from Mexico!

If Frank and I were Rabbits, this would be us.

I don't know... that rabbit doesn't look real to me. 

Or maybe it ate some clover by the nuclear power plant.

This is pretend. A rabbit can't really fit in an egg.

Reading lines for the play, Harvey.