Mules and Wildcat Heads
(Excerpts from page 31 of the book)
Like I said before, Mrs. Miller was the best teacher I ever had, but that didn’t keep me from getting into trouble with her. One time during recess, it was raining outside, so we were all playing inside.
Katie Clayton, a cute little girl in the same grade with me, and I were playing around. As we wrestled over something, we knocked over a chair with some library books on it. They went flying across the floor and Mrs. Miller immediately rose from her chair and gave me the evil eye. I knew I was in trouble at that point. She said “Pick up those books now!” I quickly complied by picking every one of them up and placing them back on the chair that I had already picked up and put back in the row from where it came.
At this point I thought I was through. Not to be! “Now take those books over to the shelf where they belong.” came her new orders.
Now, my bull headed stubbornness kicked in. “I did not bring them over here and I’m not taking them back.”
Wrong answer! She got up from her desk, picked up her sycamore switch (a limb about one inch in thickness and four feet long) and started toward me. “You will take them back and you will do it now!”
“Unh uh”, I said as I backed up to the wall and she began beating. Wham, bam, wham, bam, she went with the switch. Over and over she swung, as I stood there completely defying her, and trying not to let on how bad it was hurting. Luckily the wall was absorbing some of the blow.
We continued this until we were both worn to a frazzle, as was that sycamore club. It was starting to resemble a short whisk broom more than a switch. Fortunately for both of us, Katie could not take it anymore. She began crying and whimpered, “I’ll take them, I’ll take them back!”
Both of us sighed with relief and were glad it was over. Had it not been for Katie, I don’t know who would have keeled over first, me from pain or she from exhaustion.
Yes, I used to be a little stubborn. I would probably have killed a kid who defied me like that while I was teaching.