School Story
Kindergarten: Maple Leaf Elementary. Walked to school every day. So thrilled to be going to school with my bro, Mike. I beat his classmates at tetherball. Mrs. Bunn said she wished I could be like my brother. What a thing to say! I've always been a pain in the butt to people.
1st Grade: Why can't I remember this teacher's name? Anyone?
2nd Grade: Kenmore Elementary. Mrs. Givens. She seemed to be an alcoholic, which I didn't realize until many years later. Always remembered her swishing Listerine in class and spitting it out in the waste basket. One day she asked if anyone wanted to sing a song. Tom O'Murtaugh stood up and sang, Wayward Wind. I stood on my desk and sang, All Shook Up.
3rd Grade: Kenmore Elementary. Mr Steinar. Always liked him. I lost a spelling bee to Sheila Wilson once, when my dyslexia spelled "and," instead of "said." Got in a fight with Roby Eden. He was literally trying to rip my eyeball out! About 12 classmates went and grabbed him and CARRIED him up and presented him to the Mr. Steinar...thanks, you guys!!
4th Grade: Kenmore Elementary. Mrs. Honnecut. Had a serious crush on her! I think this is when I fell in love with Janet Starwalt, but was too shy to let her know.
5th Grade: Kenmore Elementary. Mr. Duquet. Didn't realize he was gay until many years later. Loved his pink '57 T-bird :-) One of my fav teachers. One day he was talking about skirmishes. He brought up the relevance of "the line of skirmish" in football. The laughter from the class was LOUD ;-)
6th Grade: Kenmore Elementary. Mr. Gimurtu. Loved this guy...Greek. This was the year we invented the game, "Kill." No one taught us how to play soccer, so we came up with this scenario where we'd choose teams, one-by-one. I was always one of the captains. My team would line up in a triangle, with me at the head, and if anyone opposed us, we'd trash them. We always won. That was the year I was voted class president, a distinction wrongly given because I campaigned more vigorously than my opponent, Sheila Wilson, who really should have been class president. I was terrified of having to fulfill my role, so would often, on those Fridays, feign sickness and stay home. I read more than any other student. Mike LeMeir was right behind me. My nickname was Dino, from the Flintstones :-)
7th Grade: Kenmore Junior High. Mr. Whitmore. This was his first year of teaching, and he told us how nervous he was. I assigned myself as the class joke-teller, telling a new joke every morning. I remember hanging out in the "can," and lagging coins with Dave Sharpe's big brother. I was pretty good, and won the respect (and money) of the ninth graders. At this age I designed a smokestack that would mix all the toxic smoke with chemicals to remove the toxins, resulting in non-polluting exhaust.
8th Grade: Kenmore Elementary. Mr. Whitaker, all-time best teacher! Also had Mr. Moore for math, another great teacher, I always felt a friendship there. I remember vividly seeing something written on Steve Snyder's notebook, "THE BEATLES ARE COMING!" I asked, "what's that?" Their debut on the Ed Sullivan show cemented my future. They shook me, just like they shook the world! Steve Fossen and I became best friends, sharing thoughts like, "What if people's farts came out pink?" One time, on a field trip to visit the dams of Eastern Washington, I KISSED Rosalie Cantrell, who I thought was one of the hottest girls I'd ever seen. This was a life-changing moment. "WOW... that's what it's like?!?"
9th Grade:
9th Grade: Kenmore Elementary.
