Three Times Two

A low wall separated students as facile teachers moved about their classrooms dispensing knowledge. We children knew no better and probably thought that all schools resembled our country version of learning.

I shouldn't have been there at all. I was too young, an interloper. No Kindergarten class existed to welcome me. My parents knew that I was bored at home and they sought to remedy my plight.

Daddy was a member of the local school board. As the academic year approached, discussion centered around the lack of the required number of students needed to complete a first grade class. Daddy offered me to fill one of the vacant slots. Another girl, five months younger than myself, brought the class into compliance.



My parents were told that I could be withdrawn if school proved to be too daunting. It never was except perhaps years later when I began to freeze when faced with advanced math.

Pine Ridge School consisted of a two-story wood frame building. Two classrooms were situated on each of the floors. Two grades were taught in each classroom. The arrangement seemed perfectly normal to all the students and their teachers.


Sixty years ago this September, I rode the school bus from my front yard a mile or so to the school building. That first year there was no cafeteria on site. A brown paper bag contained my lunch. I have a vague memory of drinking a warm bottle of Pepsi at my desk, supplemented by a waxed paper wrapped sandwich.

As a poor relation to the much better funded schools of the nearby town, our classroom furniture tended to be antique. Desks were attached one to the other, made of some dark hardwood and featured a circular hole where one could place his ink bottle. Not useful for my generation but for others long before me. The top of the desk was hinged with ample space inside for books, papers, and pencils in the cavity beneath.

Mrs. Hays taught me in first and second grade. She was followed by Miss Furr for third and fourth grade. During the week, they lived with their fellow teachers in a small building on the school grounds. The 'teacherage' also housed the principal and her husband.



Even though the school lacked many basic amenities, students flourished in the instructional environment. A large lot adjacent to the school provided ample room for sports. Along with core subjects, an emphasis on art allowed us to expand our creativity. I can still visualize the much-too-skinny papier mache lion which I constructed. Music was introduced as we participated in a Rhythm Band. Outfits for the girls consisted of a short bright red taffetta skirt, topped by a sleeveless black taffetta top, trimmed with silver cord. Even in grade school, my non-musical self was evident. Thus, I was assigned to the triangle. I'm sure it was thought I'd do the least damage to the group with that instrument. The band performed at school assemblies and on occasion traveled to other country schools for concerts.

Mother became President of the PTA. Many nights were spent at the schoolhouse where potluck dinners raised money to buy equipment or send the students on field trips. With school bus windows lowered to catch damp breezes, we traveled overgrown vegetation shrouded narrow roads to Vicksburg and Jackson. National parks and museums provided culture to kids whose previous exposure, in most cases, was alarmingly low.

Students could join the 4-H Club, participate in Boy or Girl Scouts, take piano or voice lessons. Once a week, a bookmobile arrived on campus. As children grew a bit older, they might secure permission to walk to the nearby country store. In this unadorned concrete building, which my husband later compared to scenes in the movie "Deliverance," snacks could be purchased to supplement sack lunches. I developed a fondness for Zero candy bars and absurdly sugar-laden peanut patties.

Discipline was dispensed without regard to consequences or the rights of students. One day when I was in fifth grade and still adjusting to the concept of a male teacher, an unruly sixth grade boy refused to obey Mr. Bishop's direction. Soon the two grades sat still while the young man was chased around the room by the teacher, wielding a huge heavy yardstick. Determined to escape, the boy climbed out the back window and made his way across the roof of the building. Mr. Bishop followed in nimble pursuit. I remember nothing more about this incident but I'm confident that the student suffered from his actions both at school and later at home.

My classmates considered themselves enrolled in a proper school. Certainly its rural location limited our academic learning somewhat. When I finished the sixth grade, life changed dramatically. Two school districts melded together and I was destined to spend seventh grade, and all the succeeding grades, in town. I vividly recall being intimidated and filled with questions. What if I couldn't compete? How would I make new friends? Could I make the transition from two grades in one room to changing classes and teachers every period of the day?

Almost seamlessly, Braden became my new school sanctuary. I discovered that I was well-prepared and that friends were easily attained. Some of the people I met that year remain a part of my life today. Moving from one classroom to another gave me a sense of maturity rather than fright. Pine Ridge remains my firm foundation and still resonates in my memory.

Turned Out

I'm a spectator, not an athlete. I live with someone who played hard and won often. A person who chose to crash into a brick wall using his wrists to cushion (???) the impact rather than allow his opponent to win a race. The victor broke both wrists. Decades later, he says he'd do it again. From time to time, he's tried to explain the mystique of team culture. Locker room bonding, the joy of physical exertion. I believe him, totally, but I remain mostly sedentary. Not so long ago, our daughter, previously a non-athlete, announced that she'd joined a roller derby team. I gasped in surprise and not a little bit of fear for her safety. She overcame her lack of years in sports and conquered the flat track. Then, wisely, she retired her skates at twenty-six.

So it may seem a bit incongruous that I devoted four years to a fictitious team in a make-believe town in football fanatic Texas. What drew me to this story was not a devotion to pigskin but rather to the people who played and those who watched. Most especially I grew to admire the coach and the life lessons he dispensed weekly. His brand of teaching resonates because of its truthfulness and the standards to which he held himself and his students.

With unflinching focus, the camera captured a nightmare in the very first episode. A perfect sports specimen, one Jason Street, quarterback extraordinaire, super popular, smart, a good-looking young man is tragically injured in the big game. He never walks again. From that unlikely beginning Fridays are never the same.

Coach Taylor has a family anchored by the indomitable Tammy who's first depicted as a high school counselor and later the principal. She, too, embodies an ethical standard that parents seek from school leaders and students, though they might protest otherwise, soon realize will help to chart their life's journey. Together as a couple, these two imagined people demonstrate that self-confidence can be modeled and that fun need not be abandoned in the process.

As characters appeared, encountered crises, conquered faulty family environments and personal challenges, I was drawn to the legitimancy of their stories. I never felt that the intelligence of the audience was being ignored but rather that it was acknowledged and awarded by scripts that often soared far beyond the norm.

Not everything turned out perfectly. Not every game was won. Not every person was nice or dealt with fairly. Compromises laced the stories together, along with plenty of forgiveness. Redemption and respect coursed through the hallways and onto the playing field.

As graduation brought departures, new characters arrived. I barely missed the familiar faces as fresh ones captured my attention. I grew to admire so many students--Landry, Matt, Amy, Tyra, Smash, Lyla, Vince, Tim, Luke and Becky. I reveled in the resilience of Vince's mom and shook my head at Buddy, portrayed as the ultimate football fan for whom no ethical compromise was too great. I saw Matt's grandmother struggle with a fading memory and watched her face as she shared her grandson's triumphs.

I could recount a litany of compassionate acts by Coach Taylor as he expected the best from his young players, just as he demanded of himself. I do not doubt that his impact on those young men, and to some extent their families, was profound. He faced professional adversity with grace and dignity.

Two days ago, I watched the final episode of "Friday Night Lights" with a teary face. I welcomed back players from past seasons and smiled a bit as Coach Taylor abandoned Texas for a greater love, his wife. Tammy's new job as Dean of Students at a Philadelphia college threatened to separate the family. Of course it didn't. There's high school football in Pennsylvania, too.

The final scene shows Coach with his northeast team. They look a bit baffled as did their Texas counterparts every fall. He begins to talk to them about his mantra: "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose." All eyes stare at him, not understanding his meaning. He's not phased at all and calmly says, "You'll get it." He knows that even losing is often winning.

Though I've never been part of an athletic team, I realize that I'm a partner on the very best team possible. The other member shares my address and my life. I've learned innumerable lessons from him and the impact has been profound. He's my permanent life coach.

Back Room School

No photos of that day exist or at least, none that I've ever seen. Her dress remains a mystery although I can imagine it must have contained lots of lace, some satin, maybe a bit of beading. Once, too many years in the past, she took a box from the bottom of her armoire and gently lifted its lid. Nestled inside were pale ivory peau de soie shoes, barely worn. With French heels, discreet straps that fastened onto pearl buttons, and a rounded toe, they looked quite comfortable. Definitely stylish. For someone with the same size foot, these shoes could transcend decades or even a century plus. How I wish I had said I wanted the special footwear. Would she have parted with them immediately or said a daughter deserved their legacy, not someone from the next generation? I never saw the box or its contents again. When we lost her, inheriting her possessions became the purview of seven siblings.



Marrying on Valentine's Day reflects romance. Was the 14th chosen with emotion in mind or did it simply fall on a convenient day of the week in 1898? Already in their late twenties, the bride and groom might have been considered 'old' for their era.

They moved into a farmhouse perched on a slight knoll. Behind the site lay approximately 165 acres. Land marked by deep kudzu filled bayous, pastures bordered by thick forests, small hills sloping down to muddy ponds. Twenty additional acres across the narrow dirt road contained a sharp abyss covered in tangled foliage.

The land linked him to family four generations in the past, having been part of a Spanish grant in the 1780's. He bought it from a distant cousin and brought his bride there to begin a life together.

Rural and rustic with basic rooms, high ceilings, abundant windows and the blessed shade provided by ancient pecan trees, the house mirrored not the expansive home situated on the adjoining property but a much more functional style. Modest in its construction, nearly devoid of detail except for simple carvings around the front porch posts, the dwelling perfectly suited its setting.

Four large rooms were bifurcated by an ample hallway which ran the length of the center of the house. Its width measured approximately ten feet and easily accommodated many pieces of furniture and other accoutrements. An eat-in kitchen and adjacent pantry completed the space. At some time in the future, one room morphed into a bathroom. With intermittent running water, its usage was often precarious and unpredictable.

As the twosome expanded to include seven children, the necessity of more living space became paramount. In addition to gardens, livestock, fowl, horses and mules, the farm yielded revenue with its dairy. More income was desperately needed and fortunately in the early years of the twentieth century, the situation was eased when he became the local schoolmaster. Conveniently, the school district built a structure on the property across from the house.

When the teaching days ended, the building became surplus property and was offered to the family. Moving it must have been quite an undertaking. I can imagine that horses and many men were involved in that process. The rectangular shaped room was attached to the existing house. Its connection was not exactly precise and the whole room listed a bit to the west. I felt that the imperfection gave the room character.

I never met my Papa, the schoolmaster, as he died seven years before I was born. I failed to ask Granny about the room and its unusual origins. I always knew that it had been a schoolhouse even though my family referred to it as the 'junk' room or the 'back' room.

Two doors provided access. One opened from the screened-in back porch. The other provided entry into the pantry. Three sides of the room contained two large windows each. It was possible to stand at the end of the room and gaze beyond the first pond into the surrounding pasture. A scene of gentle tranquility. Looking toward the west, a huge chicken house anchored the grassy plot. Just beyond, a once red, but now weathered to rust, barn reached two stories with its hayloft overlooking a silent silo.



As I reached my teen years, Daddy decided I needed my own space for entertaining my friends. I must have strongly encouraged him towards this decision. The room was cleared of its accumulated debris and modernized into early '60's chic. Along one wall, a storage bench was built. It could serve as a seating area or place to house games and other party necessities. The walls received the requisite pine paneling, the floor's original oak planks were soon hidden behind what was, in retrospect, truly hideous brown speckled tile.

Near the pantry door there was room for a Hi-fi. My record collection included Elvis, Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, The Kingston Trio, Duane Eddy and so many more. A set of bookshelves was built into the corner. Between the west windows, a faux fireplace with gas log promised warmth on winter nights. Cut into another wall, a room air conditioner helped erase humidity and seasonal heat.



Only Early American furniture would adorn this room. A brown muddled fabric, soft to the touch, covered the couch. The comfortable side chair featured a dark green version of this pattern. Tables were topped with matching lamps which today might cause endless smiles for seekers of '60's styles.

I loved every single inch of the room. I filled it with friends and even spent some evenings there with a boyfriend or two. I don't know that my younger brother ever enjoyed the room as much as I did. Once I moved away, it reverted to the previous status of 'junk' room. My parents moved the furniture to the hall, replacing older pieces as necessary.

The house is no longer ours but the room remains mine, safely ensconsed in memory. Occasionally I visualize my Papa standing behind his desk, educating children in multiple grades simultaneously. I've been told that he was stern, perhaps overly so. That characteristic may account for the brevity of his assignment. I focus not on those factors but on the room's story. Though silent, it speaks loudly to me of family and tradition.

YPCO

Three choices loomed. One promised adventure (a far away job), another acceleration (summer school). The last (going home), and least desired, offered basic bleakness. I hoped for the first, would settle for the second, and dreaded the third.

As the next-to-last born first cousin, I was accustomed to hearing about what seemed like exotic opportunities enjoyed by the elders of my generation. The boy cousins' stories especially intrigued me. A couple of brothers captured my struggling self with tales of piloting historic buses over Glacier National Park's glorious Going to the Sun Road. How could a kid from my small town hope to experience such spaces? I was, after all, a girl. Just eighteen, finishing my freshman year at a state women's college. My world was little, very proscribed.


Yet something called to me from vistas I could only imagine. Maybe my future would unfurl in a place where summer snow is not uncommon and animals generally only encountered in zoos, roam freely.

By the time I reached the age eligibility for such exploration, the boy cousins had finished medical school. I had not forgotten the almost mythic stories of their past summers and set about to replicate their tales.

I really wanted to work in the same park they had chosen but decided to also seek an alternate, just in case. To secure a spot for me, my dear daddy called upon his first cousin, the Speaker of the House of Representatives in our state. He, in turn, asked a favor of the state's senior U.S. Senator. A letter of recommendation was crafted and sent along with my application. I really don't know if this support was truly necessary but it couldn't have hurt my chances.

I never received a reply from my favored site, but delighted in acceptance from the alternate. My destiny was thus determined. Hired as a checker/cashier, I'd receive room and board and $90 a month for a six-day week. If I stayed the whole summer, I'd collect a bonus which could be used to offset transportation costs.

Did it bother me that the journey of thousands of miles probably cost more than I would earn in three months? Not in the least. I was focused. Ready to escape my environment, to test myself in another setting without family or friends. Me, alone. A near grown-up. I was absolutely unafraid of what I might discover or who might discover me.

For months I updated my parents on my progress toward the summer sojourn. On the day they drove me to the train station and I was about to eagerly alight, my mother looked at me and said, "I never believed you would do it. I thought you were just talking." Not for a minute. I waved without wavering and boarded without regret.

Riding on the City of New Orleans, I looked forward. First stop, Chicago, where a close high school friend was ending his own freshman year at the University of Chicago. We spent the day together. I rode the El to his campus without pausing to think of potential danger. That night, I returned to the train station, found my sleeper on the Great Northern Railway, and bid adieu to all that I knew.

So began my Yellowstone National Park days. In many ways, those months marked my life indelibly. I learned a lot about myself and set the course that would bring me, through many meanderings, to the joyful life I embrace today.

We were all young. Even the people we considered 'old' were not. I was assigned the cafeteria at Fishing Bridge. My dorm room was perched atop a rustic lodge where workers and guests gathered on nippy nights. Girls from many states and a few foreign countries crowded our narrow halls. Some had recently graduated from high school and seemed overwhelmed by the absence of the familiar.


Guys lived in their own dorm a short distance away. Because of an overflow, a few had been assigned to nearly primitive cabins generally rented to visitors. Wandering at will among the cabins were rather formidable brown bears. They were so prolific that we quickly learned to basically ignore them and stay out of their way.

Whoever chose the uniforms for the cafeteria workers must have possessed a macabre sense of humor. The material was thin, flimsy rayon. Its surface featured puckers and not in a positive way. Down the front, a white piping lent an air of lightness to the dress. Short sleeves, buttons hidden behind the white placket, and a slight A-line shape did nothing to enhance the outfit. The color can only be described as awful, pale mustard. I remember that uniform needed extensive hemming. No petites in the inventory apparently. It fit loosely and looked comical. I wish I still had a photo of this unlovely frock. A somewhat perky apron and plain tennies completed the ensemble.

Standing at the cash register, I added up whatever choices had been placed on the customer's tray. The bill was given to the cashier who then asked for payment. To my right, there was a long row of steam tables with meat, vegetables, desserts, rolls. No plastic gloves anywhere. Sanitation was scant. After a few weeks, I could barely tolerate seeing and smelling the food day after day.

Customers were often in family groups, sometimes tired, occasionally difficult. We offered a service for those who caught rainbow trout in nearby Yellowstone Lake. The kitchen would prepare the fish and serve it to the guest for a small fee. I still recall the excellent flavor of this fish which also appeared regularly on the staff menus.

As young people do, alliances formed quickly. Boys met girls. Dates ensued. Romances blossomed, though few were permanent. In addition to those who worked for Yellowstone Park Company, another group toiled for Hamilton Stores. Those enterprises offered clothing, camping supplies, groceries and restaurants featuring soda fountains.



Company buses offered transportation throughout the park. Traveling to other sites was simple enough. I marveled at the magnificence of Old Faithful and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, walked carefully quite close to many geysers and hot pools, joined an excursion to the top of the highest point in the park, and ate my way from Canyon to West Thumb and Mammoth to Roosevelt. I reveled in light snow with my head protected by a pink plastic umbrella.


Bison moved in lumbering herds and seemed oblivious to passing cars and gawking tourists with cameras. Once, while exploring off the main road, a gigantic moose nearly collided with the hood of the car. It's difficult to say who was more startled. I often rode around the park with new friends and blithely stopped for bears. With Oreos in hand, we offered samples to these monstrous creatures. For fun, we'd drive to West Yellowstone late in the evening, park the car and watch grizzlies eat garbage. No fear fused through our minds. Did we feel invincible?


With only one free day a week but energy to spare, destinations outside the park beckoned. Over the circuitous road through Beartooth Pass, we exited to the east and visited Billings. I remember an almost empty theater where "The Parent Trap" was the feature. Down south to Teton National Park, a first attempt at sleeping outside at Gros Ventre Campground convinced me that I was not an outdoorsperson. The historical town of Cody offered a cute vaudeville show and huge, not so tender, steaks eaten at a rustic restaurant overlooking the frightening edge of a deep canyon.

Though my self-confidence was in its infancy, and I probably lacked any real courage, I must admit that several times I walked with a fellow female worker to the junction of the main road, stuck out my thumb and hitchhiked to another site within the park. The fact that these rides were totally uneventful must be attributed to simple luck. There is no other explanation, even in what seemed like halcyon days.

My favorite spot in the whole park was, and remains, the dining room at Lake Lodge. With an absolutely spectacular view of Lake Yellowstone, white tablecloth-covered tables, and college-age servers, it really didn't matter if the food were palatable. It was much more than that. I've rarely eaten more satisfying meals. In the background, young musicians played effortlessly and transformed the setting into the sublime.

In the decades since my park employment, I've returned multiple times to that place of astounding beauty. My husband and children agree that my assessment of Yellowstone is absolutely accurate. I've been pleased to observe that despite the years, increasing usage, and ravages of nature, the wonder has not diminished. Roads may be in need of repair, buildings have faded a bit or been razed. The college student workers continue the tradition of enthusiasm and energy. Yellowstone Park Company has been replaced by an absentee corporate landlord whose focus is finance not heritage. The park, however, still belongs to the people. May it ever be so.

As for me, I have only to look at this adorable face, and know that I found my future at Yellowstone National Park.

P.S. Love

Five years at most. That's what we said. After that, well, we weren't sure. Another place, another state, different careers. We were young thirty-somethings. Learning a life together, creating a future. He was undaunted, fearless. I was cautious, fearful. True I had abdicated my old self without regret. Friends and family members were stupefied and tried to stop me. I listened to no one but the voice inside that assured me I was right. And, of course, his voice.

So, we packed a U-Haul, a kid and two cars and crossed the desert to this place. Thirty-four years ago last month. So much for the five year residency. We've chosen to be here forever.

One of the statements I made early in our relationship centered on my hatred of heat. I declared that I'd move anywhere (almost anywhere) as long as it wasn't hotter than where I was already living. We moved. It is even hotter here. That's definitely not what I love about this location. I guess I could say it's what I loathe. Yet we're staying and I totally agree.

The other day I began thinking about why I do love this area. These thoughts emerged as the thermometer began its annual climb to frying numbers. I have somewhat adapted to the heat and know that it won't last forever. It will just seem that way. The absolute bliss of late fall, winter and spring will return to refresh my attitude and cool my soul. During those blissful months, I'll remark repeatedly that the day is glorious, the sky sublime, the air so dry the humidity can barely be measured. I'll be serene, suffused by temperatures that are simply perfect.

Until those favored days return, I shall focus on all there is to love about Palm Springs as it sizzles. My list includes:

.grey, purple mountains with smidges of green that provide a rocky barrier and signature landscape
.wide, clean streets made for walking or biking
.Spanish tiled roofs of houses old and new that herald a Southwest heritage
.seminal Mexican food at Las Casuelas, the original
.grilled shrimp tacos surrounded by chips (fries) that shouldn't, but will, be eaten at Fisherman's Market
.the deli crew at Ralph's who know I'll stop by at least twice a week for 1 1/4 pounds of Boar's Head low-sodium turkey, sliced extra thin
.whole wheat Omega-3 dinner rolls with flax seeds, adorned with oatmeal flakes from Aspen Mills Bakery
.orange and yellow lantana that relishes the heat and spreads across our xeriscape rock lawn
.our pool, complete with diving board and spa, which beckons the neighbor sisters and offers a wet escape in the evening when the water temperature approaches that of a tepid bath
.the convenience of an airport so close we could walk there, featuring desirable destinations and occasional reasonable fares
.wandering the aisles of the public library, searching for new titles as well as older tomes and trying not to lament how much it's changed since Henry retired
.leisurely lunches with sweet special friends--Lois, Denise, Josie, Susan
.non-blockbuster, but intellectually satisfying, movies at the Camelot Theater just down the street
.good enough, but not quite New York pizza, from Angelina's
.grilling turkey burgers and chicken on our patio
.driving down Palm Canyon with sparse traffic alongside me
.stopping at the Farmer's Market, relocated to the almost abandoned mall, and encountering the mother of Caitlin's very first friend from Kindergarten
.sharing these special places with family and friends who are astounded at the mountain vistas, the unique beauty of our desert and the hominess of our adopted town and who do not expire despite the temperatures
.the deep ripe orange of Mexican Bird of Paradise plants that languish in winter and thrive spectacularly in summer


Occasionally as we travel, people inquire about where we live. Most have heard of this place. Some have visited, though not in summer. Almost always there is astonishment that we are in residence year-round. Of course we are, this is home.


Yes, it is love, Palm Springs style. Even today when it's 118 degrees. I'll just concentrate on this photo.