First Day of School

He was born to an average couple in the midst of a city. Two sisters were due to give birth at the same time. The first had a beautiful baby girl with brown eyes and dark natural curly hair. The second, wanting nothing more than a repeat performance of her sister, instead had a boy. Oh well, she made the best of what she had and dressed him in little dresses and later on when he had longer hair, did it up in pipe curls. Pictures of those days show what looks like a cute little blonde girl with curls in her hair.

He grew up during the Great Depression, although he never realized what work it took for his father to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. Three years later another child was born, a boy. He grew up as the average child did. By the time my Grandpa was five he showed a marked interest in birds, fish, and turtles (turtles could be purchased at the 5 & 10, for 15 cents). He also liked the bows and arrows owned by his uncle. Not being one who liked to be told what to do, he got into quite a few scrapes with the neighborhood kids. Especially one, a girl large for her age, who tried to tell everyone that they had to do things her way and was big enough to impose her will on most of the kids. This led to Grandpa’s first brush with authority. The authority was the kinder, quieter teacher, and the principle.

First day of school found Grandpa with his little lunch pail and a rolled up 2’x 3’ rug tucked under one arm to lie on during the afternoon nap. Upon reaching school and almost entering this strange place, he was suddenly confronted by the large girl who stood in the doorway with her arms and legs spread out. She told him he could not enter. This was the last straw! Being one of the earlier advocates of affirmative action, he put down his head and charged, neatly removing the girl from the doorway. Without looking back he joined the other kids he knew inside and put his dinner pail and rug where they did.

At this point he met his teacher, although she didn’t look at all friendly. Her face was red and had sort of a mean look to it. “What did you do?” she said. He stood there sort of perplexed. What was the problem with her he wondered? He’d never seen her before and already things didn’t seem to be going real good. He was informed that the large girl was temporarily unconscious. He also owed the principal a visit. This being the first time he had heard the word principal, thus not having the faintest idea what a principal was, he just stood there. The teacher grabbed him by the arm and in short order he knew 3 things: 1. What a principal was, 2. Where his office was, 3. Who he was and what his name was.
He sat behind his desk and wrote for a bit. The teacher left and shortly the principal turned his attention to the child in front of him. He asked him what he had done and why. He seemed like a real nice man and they were soon chatting about the situation. The principal explained that what had been done was not good and such actions should be refrained from in the future. After Grandpa promised he would refrain and the principal gave some encouraging words he was back to his first day of school.

He had learned from the principal a few things:
First, that girls are different than boys, and even if they are of the large variety, you should think twice before resorting to violence.
Second, that this principal was a dandy fellow who understood boys and girls and in years to come would turn out to be a fine friend to my Grandpa!