It is a good thing our children are not taught in school like we were when I was a boy. If they were they might actually achieve an education and that is the last thing the political elite seem to want.
Back then, at Hebron Elementary Institute of Higher Learning, we knew better than to sass the teacher because if we did, Mr. Peavy or Mr. Kirkland would make your bottom shine like a new dime. And when we got home, a trip to the dreaded mulberry tree was awaiting.
Ken Vickers
Higher learning
There were free lunches back then but, if memory serves, there was only one family that had to have them at Hebron and this family was truly poor. Not like today when children eat their free lunch while often times wearing hundred dollar tennis shoes.
Learning was center stage at Hebron but the part I liked best was recess. It was then we could draw a circle and play marbles. This is a lost art today, but back then it was serious business and it taught us how to concentrate and think ahead. I was a fair shot but there were some of the boys and one girl that slung a mean shooter. The girl was Brenda Metts and she had an advantage that she used all too well. She was a girl and she knew you ain’t supposed to beat up on a girl by taking her marbles.
Of course, Brenda was as much of a man as any of the rest of us, but still, she was a girl. She’d look at you so pitiful when you were about to take her marbles or she would threaten to beat the crap out of you and you would miss your shot sure as rain. Wilburn Burch shot by slipping his marble off the side of his thumb, kind of like riding sidesaddle. He was pretty good and most of the time he and I broke even.
The next best thing was earthworm grunting which taught us patience and Hebron sat on one of the premier earthworm grunting locations on earth.
We would drive a stake into the earth about 10 inches and rub a brick back and to across it rapidly, causing a high pitched vibration and before you knew it, long, prime earthworms would emerge all around. We gathered them by the thousands; we nearly caused their extinction in the Hebron region.
Some of the boys were meaner than a wildcat and took great delight in pulling pranks; like putting a raccoon through the girl’s bathroom window while the bathroom was full and then holding the door so they couldn’t get out. You should have heard them scream.
One time we, I mean they, plugged a citron on the tailpipe of a teacher’s car. When the teacher, Mr. Rawlings, came out after school and fired up his jalopy, the pressure built up and blew the citron off with an explosion that rattled the windows and blew his muffler to smithereens.
Our local school board (Coffee County) is embroiled in controversy now and I wish them the best, but until we start shining some students butts like a new dime when they act up or letting them play marbles and grunt earthworms, I’m afraid our young’uns education is going to go lacking.
Learning was center stage at Hebron but the part I liked best was recess. It was then we could draw a circle and play marbles. This is a lost art today, but back then it was serious business and it taught us how to concentrate and think ahead. I was a fair shot but there were some of the boys and one girl that slung a mean shooter. The girl was Brenda Metts and she had an advantage that she used all too well. She was a girl and she knew you ain’t supposed to beat up on a girl by taking her marbles.
Of course, Brenda was as much of a man as any of the rest of us, but still, she was a girl. She’d look at you so pitiful when you were about to take her marbles or she would threaten to beat the crap out of you and you would miss your shot sure as rain. Wilburn Burch shot by slipping his marble off the side of his thumb, kind of like riding sidesaddle. He was pretty good and most of the time he and I broke even.
The next best thing was earthworm grunting which taught us patience and Hebron sat on one of the premier earthworm grunting locations on earth.
We would drive a stake into the earth about 10 inches and rub a brick back and to across it rapidly, causing a high pitched vibration and before you knew it, long, prime earthworms would emerge all around. We gathered them by the thousands; we nearly caused their extinction in the Hebron region.
Some of the boys were meaner than a wildcat and took great delight in pulling pranks; like putting a raccoon through the girl’s bathroom window while the bathroom was full and then holding the door so they couldn’t get out. You should have heard them scream.
One time we, I mean they, plugged a citron on the tailpipe of a teacher’s car. When the teacher, Mr. Rawlings, came out after school and fired up his jalopy, the pressure built up and blew the citron off with an explosion that rattled the windows and blew his muffler to smithereens.
Our local school board (Coffee County) is embroiled in controversy now and I wish them the best, but until we start shining some students butts like a new dime when they act up or letting them play marbles and grunt earthworms, I’m afraid our young’uns education is going to go lacking.
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