Mom’s Stories
In the twelve years after my father died, my mother became a frequent attendee at my classes. She joined the ongoing Write about Your Life class that has lasted over twenty years and is still meeting. The day before my mother died, I stayed with her for many hours. We watched a movie, looked at her garden, ate tasty food, and talked. At one point, I suggested she do the current assignment for her class: Someone who has made you laugh. She dictated these two short anecdotes.
“Wally at Auburn Junior High”
There is a phenomenon that in every school class there is a clown, and the way to handle a clown is to place him right at your hand. If he is out amid the class, they can catch his facial expressions and hear his asides.
Unfortunately, I can’t remember what Wally said, but it was rich. I would be standing in front of the class in impossible choking giggles and trying to disguise it. The kids hadn’t heard so they tried to find out what he’d said, but couldn’t.
Wally’s jokes were first class! Not many years later, he became a state-leading politician, and his jokes were sometimes in the newspaper.
Another story: In an 8th grade class at Thomson Jr. High, I had 20 students doing a standard art project—a pedantic art project. But I had ten who were making mirror balls. They sat beside me on the edge of the classroom and told hilarious anecdotes. Yes, I do remember one! They told about going to visit the grave of Zazu Pitts who was a silent film star. They’d gone as a group to visit her grave and introduced themselves with funny names. These kids were into the Lord of the Rings and were notable for being big enough to tower over the other kids. They had taken names like Treebeard and Bullroarer (the only hobbit large enough to ride a horse). They played the parts at all times of being the biggest hobbits ever.”
Recording these anecdotes of my mother’s, I realize she spent a lot of her time doing exactly what I’m doing right now—sharing stories about students!
Excerpt from Classroom Stories: Lessons Learned from Students and a few Teachers.
SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).
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