First day of school

   My brother has three grandsons and one granddaughter on the way, EJ.  Two of the boys start kindergarten today on disparate plans in Upstate SC and the older will be in second grade. Second grader is interested in history and amphibians. In Six Mile SC Saturday I gave him a primer on the backpedal frog off the coast of SC cause Uncle Steevie is only as smart scientifically as the last NOVA show he saw on PBS.

   Which reminds me, I must tell him about the shocka rolla or something the big Tide that rolls up the Amazon when the moon lines up just right. Rivetting Nova as far as I'm concerned.

     These boys should bring enough to the table to do okay in Life maybe even something extraordinary. In their extended ancestry they have a Vice President of Reynolds Aluminum, a Vice President of JP Stevens, three medical doctors, two cousins who made 1350 or better on the SAT, an Uncle with a letter from Bill Moyers who said "people like you make a difference"; and if you want to include Grandfather Jordan's sister's great granddaughter an international opera singer and a cotton bowl queen. 

    Got the Cotton Bowl queen in there for EJ on the way cause her Momma aint bad lookin and she just might have a shot. Plus her Daddy's jr prom date is now the wife of Cubs pitcher Jon whats his face.

    Not braggin cause everybody 's got family and in our great country who knows.

    Ive said too much. But as way into my sunset years now here is the heart of the story, My first day of first grade in Hayesville, NC Early September of 59, sixty one years ago.

    I was in Mrs. Gray's class on the east side of the school which went all the way through 12 in Clay County, Pretty sure the only one. I remember lining up for lunch. We had to walk across a bus road to get to the cafeteria though I don't remember any mayhem on rainy days but it was an open air adventure about thirty yards and we were the closest to the lunch room.

   Either on that day or soon into the year we divided up into reading groups of about seven each and the prettiest girl I knew, about as pretty as Darla of the Little Rascals, set next to me. She had on a blousy expansive crinoline-- I think was the material--with well starched undies musta been cause she almost took up two seats and you could hear her outfit crunchin ever time she moved.

   Her Dad and Mom were a handsome couple and he was a highway patrolman who later became the chaufeur for the Governor of NC when they moved to Murphy.

     I think a Crenshaw fellow, some Davenports, Jackie Auberry and Doug Lowe were in my class and maybe one of Doc Padgett's sons. My best friend Kim Wimpey who had a pretty older sister was in the other class. It's hard to tell who was in which cause their all jumbled up in the annual and it is not near at hand in the moment. I think Ray Allison was in there somewhere and the fellow who had a birthday two days before mine.

    I moved away the second week of January 62 and that was another memorable first day, but the first of the first was in Hayesville NC where I was baptized.