Category Archives: Random Memories

Good Teachers & Bad Teachers

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We all have run across good teachers and, unfortunately, our share of bad teachers. Of course, when we’re young and hate being forced to go to school where teachers boss us around all damn day, give us hard tests, and make us take classwork home to finish, we usually consider them all bad teachers. But, to be fair, they weren’t all bad.

I’ve not had as many bad teachers as some and maybe not as many good ones, either. Perhaps most of them were just mediocre. This is a list of the memorable teachers: the ones who were tough but yet taught well, the ones who listened and helped, those who were fun and interesting, and the bad ones… I hope they know how bad they truly were! I have also included a few teachers I either worked with or encountered during my years working with kids in Special Education.

 

Good Teachers

Mrs. Staton – I was so jealous that some of my classmates had her in the 3rd grade and then again in the 4th grade! She was nice and I think she was the first teacher who actually had a sense of humor that came through in her teaching. She made lessons interesting and fun. Years later, when I had the opportunity to work with her, she was the same awesome lady she was when I was a kid.

Mrs. Davis – From my days working in Special Education…I loved working with her in the Resource Classroom. I enjoyed learning from her and discovered a passion for working with special kids that I wish I hadn’t given up. I learned teaching techniques and I admired her in so many ways.

Mr. Whittaker – I took his Basic Math class, not because I needed help with basic math but because I was sick of hard math! Haha! I took Algebra and hated it and I took Geometry and although I memorized the formulas, I couldn’t wrap my brain around how to use them so I nearly didn’t pass. Mr. Whittaker let us chat while we worked, he helped those who needed help and was genuinely a good guy. It was the best math class I had ever taken, even though I didn’t need it.

Mrs. George – My friend and I took tennis in the 10th grade. Mrs. George tried and tried to teach us the correct way to hold and swing the racket, but we just never could get it just right. She was patient with us but in the end, she gave up and just let us play tennis! We still played by the rules and we got our exercise – which was the whole reason for P.E. so I appreciate her efforts and her ability to just “let it go!”

Mrs. Dennis – She was my 2nd-grade teacher and the only teacher who ever chose me as Class Pet. That sounds dumb as I write it but it’s true. She liked me, she knew I was smart, and she didn’t have a problem telling me that. It felt good because I don’t remember my mother ever telling me I was smart.

Mrs. Basque – Oh, she was a big ol’ meany 3rd-grade teacher! She made us learn our multiplication tables! We would have to learn a set (ones, twos, threes, etc.) each week and before we could go out for recess we’d have to be quizzed by her. When we passed to her satisfaction, we got a star on our chart and we could go out to play. I hated it at the time but I learned my multiplication tables! I am seriously glad she did it that way.

Mr. Everett – Oh, I hated his ass. He gave us the hardest tests and on subject matter that didn’t interest me in the least. I hated having to listen to him yap for an hour and had to take notes the whole time, too! “Everything on the tests will be talked about so if you take good notes, you’ll have everything you need to pass this class.” I took notes but still stressed. So, I made cheat notes. I wrote everything on a teeny tiny piece of paper, and by the time I had finished my cheat notes, I had it all memorized and didn’t need the notes! I hated him back then, but I realized after high school, that I learned more in his class than most of my other classes!

Ms. Kathy – She was a Science teacher at my kids’ school, believe it or not. I volunteered back then and loved working in her class. She was very good at making things understandable and interesting! I learned a few things right along with her class more than once! Science was never something I enjoyed when I was in school but I really enjoyed being in her class, even though I wasn’t a student!

 

Bad Teachers

Mrs. Libby – She wounded this 5-year-old Kindergartner’s heart. I thought I followed her instructions but she said I didn’t. She reprimanded me like no 5 year old in Kindergarten should be reprimanded. I felt like crap. She ruined Kindergarten for me. I cried and cried that day. I walked on eggshells the rest of the school year. It sure didn’t help that I went home to my mother every day who never made me feel good about myself either.

Mrs. Carey – Not be confused with the Mrs. Carey I had in the 5th grade. This woman wore bright blue eyeshadow and red lipstick. I don’t think anyone ever taught her how to put on makeup properly. In fact, I don’t think anyone ever told her how to put a wig on correctly either. She always had hair sticking out from under the wig in the back and it seemed to be positioned on her head too far forward. She was a sight!  The worst thing about her was the smell, not of cologne, but of her breath! Good grief! I hated for her to come anywhere near me! I had her for Home Ec in high school and I could cook circles around that woman. I always wonder how the fuck she got that job!

Mrs. Rule – I never had her as a teacher but when I worked in Special Ed and had the opportunity to work with her, she treated me with such condescension I wanted to poke her eyes out with my little red pencil! Thank goodness the little bit I worked with her was temporary. I had some extra time occasionally so I offered my services to some of the other teachers. Once was enough with her!

Mrs. “Stick Up Her Ass” – I can’t remember her name now; Elise something. I babysat her daughter when I was a teenager, and then years later when I worked at the high school she worked at she didn’t even remember me! I remember her stopping me in the courtyard on more than one occasion, demanding my hall pass like a royal bitch! And then to top it off, she would walk me to the office so I could prove that I worked there! I know I may have looked young enough to be a high school student but she had no business treating me like one.

Mrs. Johnson – Or should I say Old Mrs. Hands In Her Pants?! She thought no one noticed her unzipping her pants to tuck her shirt in, but we did. She didn’t seem to care about anything because we cheated on every stinkin’ test we took in her Biology class. We learned so much in her class! NOT!

Mrs. “Spanish Bitch” – I can’t recall her name. She never took the time to help those of us who were having difficulties. I would have done better than a D had she taken a little extra time. She graded on a curve so that while 90% of the class did well and got good grades, the rest of us didn’t. Well, at least it wasn’t an F.

Miss Kung – This Chinese woman drove me berzerk! She taught Algebra and I had such a hard time understanding her, it’s a wonder I even passed her class. The hardest part of Algebra for me were word problems. Miss. Kung would get up in front of the blackboard and write and chatter and then turn around, point her finger at me and say, “What does that mean, Debbie?” (Remember she was Chinese so imagine her saying that in her choppy Chinese accent.) My screeching loud response was always, “I don’t know!” I don’t think I learned a thing in her class.

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I’m sure if I thought about it a bit harder I’d come up with a few more good teachers and few more bad ones, too. These are the ones that stick in my brain! I think most were most likely good teachers but just not memorable to me. How many good and bad teachers can you remember from your childhood or beyond?

 

 

A Blast From The Past

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Ah, Barnabas Collins. The 175-year-old vampire who was inadvertently set free in 1967 and spent 4 years of the gothic daytime series Dark Shadows, in search of love and acceptance, and finding murder and mayhem. He was an evil blood-sucker, a member of the undead, but yet you could feel empathy for him.

Dark Shadows began in 1962, and when the ratings began to fall and the writers knew that the show was going to be canceled, they decided to do something drastic.  They added new characters and a new story-line. Why not have a little fun, ‘eh?

Jonathan Frid, a Canadian actor, portrayed the tortured and lovelorn vampire Barnabas Collins from 1967 to the time the show ended in 1971. Amid all the expectations of a daytime drama (love, sex, murder, theft, kidnapping, etc.) were the strange and macabre stories of ghosts, vampires, werewolves and witches, and even a Frankenstein-like creation! It was quite entertaining, although corny as hell by today’s standards!

I used to race home after school just so I could watch Dark Shadows! My mom started watching before the addition of the undead and scary characters and I was right there with her with about as much understanding as a 5 – 8-year-old could have possibly had! I loved the spookiness and the anticipation of Dark Shadows. I knew that vampires were make-believe and I wasn’t afraid when I watched as many kids might have been. Dark Shadows was one of my favorite shows right alongside The Monkees, Gilligan’s Island, The Munsters, Lost In Space, and The Partridge Family, like most kids my age.

I was absolutely devastated when my mother started coming ‘undone’ and decided that I couldn’t watch Dark Shadows anymore. She said I was having nightmares. I never had nightmares. The only time I ever had a nightmare in my life was when I was sick with a very high fever (around age 8) and dreamt there was an evil fat penguin under the sheets by my feet. I remembered that, wouldn’t I also remember if I was having nightmares about witches and vampires, etc.? My heart was just broken.

I have just recently begun to watch Dark Shadows again, starting with episode 210, when Barnabas first appears. So corny, so funny… That was back when television was entertainment and not a cesspool of reality shows, Trump tv, and other mindless crap. Don’t get me wrong. I still watch tv. I have some favorite shows, but choosing something to watch these days with over 200 channels is getting more and more cumbersome.

Ah, the good ol’ days!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ex-Files – Sucking The Fun Right Out

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CP had a way of sucking the fun out of everything. That was something he had in common with my mother. To this day, I hate board games and most other games because of her. She would throw temper tantrums, adult style when she was losing. She would accuse people of cheating and throw the board plum off the table! It was unbelievably embarrassing. CP was not the type to throw a temper tantrum like my mother did but he sure knew how to take the fun out of things.

When my daughter was turning 1 year old, I had semi-planned a party and we both agreed that the zoo would be a great place to have it. The problem is, CP wouldn’t take part in the planning. Every time I’d bring up the subject, he would hum-haw around. I ended up planning the party myself. The day of the party came and everyone met at the zoo. CP moped and bitched about this, that and the other all day long. He was perturbed that his weekend off was being gobbled up by unwanted conversations with his brother, and just being there. Some father.

Later on, my good friend and I planned a trip to Marine World. My kids were excited, and CP knew about the idea from the very beginning. He was all on board until he learned he would have to drive us there. We were to take 2 vehicles because there were 4 of us and 6 of them. Boohoo. He also complained that it wasn’t a spontaneous trip. “I don’t like planned trips. Things like that should be spur of the moment,” he bitched. I told him, “You can’t do everything spur of the moment! When you have small kids there’s a lot to consider. You have to make sure you have snacks and drinks for the drive, extra clothing, diapers, wipes, sunscreen, extra shoes…and the list goes on. It takes TIME to prep for a trip no matter how small.” He was just pissed and mumbling shit under his breath. I knew it was going to be a long day….and it was. He moped the entire time. We all walked on eggshells and I was glad to get home that night.

The year we left CP’s stupid ass in California, we had the opportunity to go to Marine World again, a Science Museum, and a HUGE aquarium. At the time, my Dad was living in San Francisco and he wanted to take us to these places. I wanted my kids to see the ocean before we left California, too. The kids were excited but I wasn’t thrilled about CP coming along and ruining the fun, yet again. I made sure to plan the trip for a day CP had to work. He was upset about that and I told him, “Why are you upset? You don’t like planned trips, remember? You just mope and ruin the fun for everyone else. We all end up walking on eggshells when you have to endure a planned trip so it’s your own damn fault you’re being left out.” He was was pissed now. I could see the anger in his eyes and with my eyes, I dared him to fucking start something over this! He kept his trap shut and guzzled a beer down his throat. Coward.

The kids and I went on that trip with my Dad. We saw the ocean and had a blast at Marine World! We got to ride an elephant and watch the dolphins perform. We spent the night at my Dad’s apartment and the next day we went to the Science Museum and Aquarium. The kids were amazed at the sharks swimming above and around us. It scared the shit out of me! We walked on the beach barefoot. My kids collected some shells and we ate hot dogs for lunch. The kids said they wished their “Pop” didn’t have to work but they had a lot of fun. We made some really good memories that day without CP’s sorry ass. I’m glad I was able to shelter them from the effects of their father’s behavior. They had no idea.

10 Things I’ve Never Told You & You Probably Don’t Care! Ha!

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I’ve been having a bit of a writer’s block the last few weeks. I don’t have an explanation for that other than I’ve just had my mind elsewhere. I’ve been crocheting like a mad-woman and that has taken up a LOT of my time! I will have a WIP (Work-In-Progress) to share, possibly tomorrow. Other than that, my pain level prevents me from doing much of anything. I’ve started my Christmas list already and have a few things (WIPs) in the making or finished.

I know I need to work on my novel (Spike) and I still have much to say in my Ex-Files series, but I’m just…I don’t know. I have no motivation at the moment to write, I guess. I’m trying to kick my own butt into gear, though, and decided it was time for a post about me (ugh, how boring!) and I came up with a few things about me that I may have never mentioned before. So, here goes nothing…

  • I used to be able to pick up a wet bar of soap in the shower with only my toes. Weird, huh?

  • When I was in my 20’s I could very easily do an awesome impression of Robert Plant. I didn’t look like him, but I sure as hell could sound like him! Everyone was so amazed that I was constantly asked to ‘perform’ at parties.

  • When I was around 16 years old, I took photos of photos in magazines of rock stars on stage and had them printed so that I could pass them off as my own concert photos! Shame on me!

  • My favorite shows when I was in Elementary School were H.R. Pufnstuf, Lost in Space, Gilligan’s Island, Dark Shadows, The Monkees, and The Partridge Family.

  • My mom smacked me in the face once when I was about 8. I will never forget it. She had brought a dog home that an old man was trying to find a home for. He couldn’t keep the dog in his new apartment. He was a big Dalmation-looking dog and his name was Zero. He was a very calm and loving dog. My dad wouldn’t let us keep him and it was very upsetting to my little 8-year-old self and I was hysterical (as my mom called it) so she slapped me across the face.

  • Once a wasp literally ran into my face while buzzing through the house and stung the shit out of me. My left cheek was swollen for days! I made up a multitude of swear words because it hurt like a son-of-a-bitch!

  • I skipped half of my Senior year of high school and still passed my classes and graduated with my classmates. When asked by my counselor how I managed to pass, I told him, “I did all the work I missed, any homework assigned, and I turned in some extra credit assignments. I’m not an idiot, you know.” He was amazed! I was bored with my classes and couldn’t care less about sitting there for 45 minutes, each class, day after day after day!

  • One of my ex’s aunts had a lazy eye and she made me nervous because there were times I couldn’t tell if she was talking to me or someone else! I eventually got used to it and I learned which eye was ‘talking’ to me.

  • I have a 6-pack of Coca-Cola Classic from the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA. This was back when sodas were still put in glass bottles. I wonder if it’s still good to drink?

  • When I worked as a CNA/CMT in a Nursing Home, an elderly woman slugged me in the right ear. She was a BIG woman, with a powerful punch. It hurt like a you-know-what and I may have said a few swear words to keep myself from punching her in the face. I knew that wouldn’t be the right thing to do, but it sure would have given me some satisfaction!

 

So, there you have it. A few more boring things about me that you really didn’t care to know. Haha. It’s funny the things you start remembering when you put your mind to it.

Earworm – You Can’t Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd

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What is an earworm, you ask?

It’s a tune or song that gets stuck in your brain! It’s that song that’s playing in your head as soon as you wake up in the morning and plays all day long. Sometimes it’s a good song or tune but sometimes it’s awful and drives you bonkers.

Don’t ask me why, but I woke up singing this song! Who am I kidding? I’m still singing it! I used to listen to Roger Miller when I was a kid and enjoyed his songs. They were very entertaining and well, I was a kid and I listened to what my parents listened to.