CROSSING GUARD DAY TWO...THE MYSTERY DEEPENS

I like to arrive about an hour early as I love the Morning light and the smell of the air.  I also like to see the women come out in their house coats to get the paper, and they alway look around to see if anyone sees them.  I make it a point to wave at them and they don't wave back, but hurry back into house....sometimes without the paper !   The Principal and a few key people are already there, in fact, the Principal of Toll came out to greet me and tell me how glad he was that I was there.  I asked him if J.F. Mc Master was still Principal at Keppel and found out he was.  I just had to go over there and meet him someday.  He was a tall, lanky man and reminded me of Abraham Lincoln without the beard.  Once a year, he came to each class and handed out a general test paper to see how much we were learning.  During the test, he would stroll slowly up and down the aisles and every student knew where he was at any point in time!   The studants were so mannerly back then, that never once do I remember one being sent to the office.  I could have achieved that if not more, I could have been expelled during the third grade....Miss. Church....a harsh lady who made me cry several times.  How I wished I could relive that one day when I was in her class.  In my fancy, I confided to a classmate that I was going to fly around the World in a jet plane.  During class, this studant raised his hand and related to Miss Church that I was going to fly around the World in a jet plane.  Like a shark that tastes blood...she went on the prowl with a barrage of questions.  It wasn't fair:  she was about forty years old and well trained in interrogation...I was nine and lost in my fantasies.  "Bobby,  I hear you are going to fly around the World in a jet plane.  What is the name of the pilot?"     "Glenn Brown"   "What type of jet is it?"   On and on it went and I finally blurted out:  "I was just kidding"   "You were not kidding, you were lying......"   When she was through, I was in tears.  How I wish I could go back in a third grade body and a 73 year old mind.  Here is what Miss Church would have heard:   "Miss Church,  We are here to be taught third grade curriculum, not to have you probe into the private lives of your charges.  How would you like it if I asked how much money you have in the bank, how much did you pay for your home,  do you have trouble with constipation,  how much sex have you had lately and who with? Did you ever fart in a bath tub?  It sounded like....eerrrrruuppp......bubble bubble bubble......a fart in a deep tub went like.....eerrrruupppp............................................................bubble bubble bubble.  Now, if you send me to office, I will send you packing and my parents will probably sue you for the emotional damage you have inflicted on me.  Now, I suggest you do what you are paid to do...teach, not ask personal questions".  Oh, would that have made a name for me. Remember, that was 1947.   Well, the kids are starting to show up and have to get busy.  After the last kid crossed and I heard the bell ring, I realized that Jeanette had not crossed.  I felt my stomach do a slow roll.  Now, I have another problem to solve:  What happened?   (to be continued)