Of course, there were times when the yardstick landed on a shoulder instead of the desk.
Regardless, the effect on the “landee”–and all those in any adjacent rows–was truly electrifying, bringing instant encouragement to lagging fingers and sharp focus to wandering minds.
On one occasion, when Mrs. Stephens was out of the room, some classmate said he wanted to go home. Being the “up front” kind of guy that I was…uh, am…I told him that if he wanted to go home, he should go home. Well, with thirty kids in the class, and the teacher who knows where, somebody had to make decisions. Unfortunately, for me, he also made a decision, promptly calling it a day, or as is now the term, he “bagged it.”
It wasn’t long before his absence was discovered by Mrs. Stephens following her return.
And, it wasn’t long before some smarmy classmate ratted me out to the incredulous Estelle Stevens. To this day, I believe she was truly impressed with my precocious leadership qualities. Whatever her impressions about my leadership, she was soon giving rather harsh utterance to the words that truly represented the ultimate doom for any of us: “You! Report to the Principal’s Office!”
Just the words alone were enough to threaten sphincter control. The otherwise immutable laws of nature were instantly themselves prisoners being held in some town named “abeyance.” Time itself, slowed to the relative consistency of cold molasses. That explains why, in terms of “relative time,” several centuries later, I was sitting in Mr. Loundsberry’s Office.
© Tracy D. Connors 2015 All Rights Reserved