Remembering

 It was the first day of school, September 1959. The little boy waited with his two brothers, his sister and his dog, for that big green school bus. Yes, the bus was green and all the kids called it the green bean. He had seen the green bean many times and even knew the man who drove it. He was a friend of the family and all the kids called him Uncle John. He was known as Big John to everyone else and he spoke funny. You see Big John came from the south and said ya'll a lot. He was a big man with a big booming voice and when he spoke you listened. Soon the green bean arrived and it was time to get on the bus. The little boys' dog followed him. All the other kids were laughing and his older brothers yelled at him, get that dog off the bus. This whole deal wasn't starting out very well. Even Big John was laughing at him. The other kids on the bus were getting up to chase after his dog and Big John hollers: ya'll sit down and stay sit! That's how they say that in the south. Laddie Boy, that was the dogs name, left the bus, the doors closed and off it went. That bus was heading to Skimhampton, that's were the elementary school was. It was a temporary thing while the new school was being built.

 The little boy thought I'm not going to like this any better than I liked going to kindergarten. That Oddfellows Hall were kindergarten was held was kind of a scary looking building. He remembered sitting on the hardwood floor and listening to the teacher read a book. The jungle gym outside was fun, but the rest of it, not so much. Remembering the time he had asked to use the bathroom and being told, he had to wait, he winched a bit. He had told Mrs. Jones he didn't think he could wait, she insisted, and he was right. He had worn a painting smock the rest of that day as his pants dried on the jungle gym, like a flag flying to announce his shame to the world. Mom noticed those pants flying right away when she came to pick him up. He was hoping there wouldn't be a repeat of that in the first grade. He determined he would go to the bathroom when needed, permission or not! And this was going to be all day. Kindergarten had only been in the afternoon. He clutched his lunch box, the one that was painted like a barn, and had a bad feeling about all this. They finally arrived at the school and his sister helped him, his brothers got as far away from him as possible. They, the brothers, were the big kids and wanted nothing to do with the little kids. First grade had begun.

 This school was going to be different, he knew that right away. To begin with there were desks and chairs. He didn't have to sit on the floor. The bathroom was down the hall and you did have to ask by raising your hand. There was a big chalk board on the front wall. It looked a little intimidating. I hope I don't have to write on that thing, I don't write so good. The teacher did say we would have a recess, she explained that meant we could play outside, unless it was raining. He liked the sound of that. 

Making it through the first day the little boy rode that green bus home. His dog was sitting there waiting for him. That dog, Laddie, had been a birthday present to him when he was five years old. Laddie would be at that bus stop every morning and every afternoon until the little boy no longer rode the bus. At first the little boy didn't like school very much, but grew to enjoy it. There would be a few incidents over the years, some misunderstandings on the bus, but that little boy rode the green bean until the green bean was taken out of service. It always felt a little special to ride that green bus, it was different and that made it special.

 That little boy was me. I remember well the green bean and Big John. I confess to not remembering all that much about the school in Skimhampton. It is true with all of us, our earliest " memories " are ones we have been told about. We were there alright, but the details have been written by someone else. I went to John Marshall Elementary the first year it was opened, not sure what year that was. Elementary school went to sixth grade back then. While I was in high school a new high school was built and I was in the first graduating class from that building, forty seven years ago. John Marshall Elementary must be closing in on sixty years now. But first grade, maybe even second was at Skimhampton school. If memory serves, later that building was the Sears store where you could pick up your mail order purchases. Surely the Green Bean is a museum piece somewhere. No pictures exists that I am aware of. Ah, but the pictures in my mind are still there, sometimes faded, sometimes crystal clear. And those pictures have sounds, smells and even taste at times to trigger them. I remember well the smell of a tin lunch box at the end of the school year. It didn't change no matter how much Mom scrubbed that thing. My favorite was that " barn " with the wide mouth thermos. Good for milk or chowder. It was pretty high tech.