Just a few long-ago anecdotes that point out to all of us that our journey is rarely smooth. Hiccups happen and we move on.
———– At about age 11, I ventured into the adult section at our Lavonia Carnegie Library and chose a book by Frank Yerby. Although I didn’t know this at the time ( I suppose I liked the look of the cover ! ), Yerby was a black Georgia writer who was considered quite risque. His works would look like nursery rhymes in today’s world, but, be that as it may, our librarian, Maebelle Davis, stopped me and said, ” Diane, take the book back. You cannot read books from that section ! ”
I could not wait to tell my mother, and ……… HERE IS HER RESPONSE : a note to the librarian ( who was older than God ) which read ,
Maebelle,
Diane can read anything, anywhere, anytime.
Thank you,
Martha
————-JUST A HICCUP ————
…………. When I was a junior at Lavonia High School in the ’50s, I attended the still active FFA camp in Covington, Georgia, along with many other students. The day before we were to return home, I came back to my cabin from a full day of fun activities to shower and dress for supper. But to my dismay……… ALL MY CLOTHES WERE MISSING.
Come to find out a girl named Peggy from Dacula had stolen from me and all the clothes were found stuffed under her mattress. Interesting what we tend to remember.
————– JUST A HICCUP ———–
———— Back in the day, the Haley family had much farm land and cotton was the crop of choice. It was particularly fitting for our family because my grandfather and my father were cotton merchants and the two enterprises went hand-in-hand.
One morning two gentlemen, dressed in suits and ties, came to our house, looking for Daddy. Mother told them that he was at his office, but they replied that they had been there, and he was not.
Now Mother was a city girl, Spartanburg and Charlotte, and some of the local nuances were not familiar. She knew that Daddy had gone to pick up the women who hoed the cotton to rid the weeds, but she wasn’t sure how to relay that information.
After 30 seconds of thinking, she said…… “OH, I REMEMBER. HE’S GONE TO PICK UP HIS ‘HOERS’ ” . “Hoe hands ” was not in her vocabulary !
No one ever saw the two gentlemen again, and who knows what tales they told !!!!!
————- JUST A HICCUP ————
——– Virtually every day that I was an administrator at Franklin County High School, I led the entire school in the Pledge of Allegiance via the intercom. This Friday was no different , I thought !
However, walking through the courtyard later that morning, a student stopped me and said, ” Mrs. Toney, don’t you believe in God ? ” I was appalled and responded with a resounding, ” Of course I do “. And he replied, ” You did not say ‘ Under God ‘ in the Pledge today !!!!!!! ”
And here’s the deal : I learned the Pledge as a little girl before then President Eisenhower added “Under God ” in 1954 . It was simply a throwback.
I explained over the intercom later that day———-and we all ( students, staff, faculty ) said the pledge again with ” UNDER GOD ” loud and clear from my vantage point.
———– JUST A HICCUP———–
Hope these anecdotes remind you of some of your very own ” hiccups ” ………………..
Haha. I remember I started reading very early and picked out a “bad” book somewhere. It was reported to my mother who said that kids can’t learn good books unless they read bad ones.
Exactly what I said to my senior English students in Winder. READ, READ, READ, whatever you like because the weakness will become strength as you grow and develop.
Love your stories and when you write them down I can hear your voice!
Thank you, BSS !!!!!