Clearwater Florida’s Parks and Recreation Director, Kevin Dunbar, is under fire after he ordered the removal of 13 flagpoles and flags from the city this week. Dunbar concluded that flying old Glory was no longer affordable — a move that parallels the decision of various cities and states to sell parks and historic sites even as the United States continues to spend billions on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Besides being the headquarters of the Church of Scientology, Clearwater previously attracted national attention over its crackdown on a bait shop displaying a copy of the first amendment, here.
In Dunbar’s defense, the parks and staff have been cut by one-forth in the last three years — making the flag maintenance a bit difficult.
The city council has voted to block Dunbar’s decisions, here.
“Mike Spindell, you ornery ol’ Cuss, I wanted to ensure that you saw the postings after yourn, especially pardon me’s post.”
FFLEO,
I saw them all and appreciated them, particularly pardon me’s which I appreciated back and yours which gave me the full words I had not known. What is so interesting about that song is that is is sung to a nursery rhyme type of tune and yet is really dark in it’s lyrics. Makes me wonder if the author was being ironic. I didn’t comment because I though there was little I could add.
Mike Spindell, you ornery ol’ Cuss, I wanted to ensure that you saw the postings after yourn, especially pardon me’s post.
Thank you, FFLEO. You’re a dear.
Now my evening is made, too.
Most people only know the chorus of School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids). Here is a midi of a neat song.
http://www.kididdles.com/lyrics/s120.html
Nothing to do, Nellie Darling,
Oh, there’s nothing to do, you say,
Let’s take a trip
On the Memory Ship,
And sail back to the good old days.
Sail to the old village schoolhouse,
Anchor outside the school door,
Look in and see,
There’s you and there’s me,
A couple of kids once more.
School days, school days,
Dear old golden rule days.
‘Readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic,
Taught to the tune of a hick’ry stick.
You were my queen in calico,
I was your bashful barefoot beau,
And you wrote on my slate,
‘I love you, Joe,’
When we were a couple of kids.
‘Member the hill, Nellie Darling,
And the oak tree that grew on its brow?
They’ve built forty stories
Upon that old hill,
And the oak’s an old chestnut now.
‘Member the meadows so green, dear,
So fragrant with clover and maize,
Into new city lots
And apartment block plots,
They’ve torn them up since those days.
School days, school days,
Dear old golden rule days.
‘Readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic,
Taught to the tune of a hick’ry stick.
You were my queen in calico,
I was your bashful barefoot beau,
And you wrote on my slate,
‘I love you, Joe,’
When we were a couple of kids.
pardon me? sayed,
Mike-
I’m happy to see you this morning.
Thanks for making my day.
I’m smiling big.
________________________________
Well, I aint! The durned ol’ cuss…
Of course, welcome back Mike! Regardless of our vast philosophical and political differences—amongst our very similar personal values—I will forever and always consider you a fine man, as I have said at least 3 times in various ways before your absence, so I aint accused of *just* feeling worry or concern for you.
Pardon me?, you and Mike are a lot alike in that you both are very open with your thoughts and emotions, to the distinct benefit of the other regulars. Exhibiting such openness/candidness demonstrates people who are very comfortable in their own skins and unafraid of comments or self-deprecating humor some disingenuous people strive to take advantage of at every turn.
Thanks for those little life stories. Amongst us is a very wise, revered constitutional scholar who is also humorously self-deprecating and his witticisms are seldom equaled.
Mike-
I’m happy to see you this morning.
Thanks for making my day.
I’m smiling big.
School Days, School Days, Good ole Golden Rule days, readin ‘n
writin ‘n rithmatic, taught to the tune of a hickory stick.
pardon me?,
I was very moved by your post. My own elementary school days
weren’t good either and for the first six grades I had about 30 absences a year. Sometimes being “sick” was a blessing. Even though I am much older than you, where I went to school we didn’t have ruler smacking by teachers. That to me is a horror.
As we age we forget the terrors we felt as children and like the snatch of song above, they are transformed into golden years. People don’t allow themselves to remember the terrors that children face, even in the best of situations, because it is a new world and there is so much to learn and we are so little.
Your writing beautifully captured the emotions of that little girl, thrust into a frightening new environment, where she wasn’t sure of the “rules,” or of the good will of those around her. You have talent with words because yours certainly evoked many feelings in me.
School Daze
by Pardon Me?
I didn’t attend kindergarten. My schooling began in First Grade, September, 1962.
It was awful.
While 30 strange and wide-eyed kids stared, Mom somehow managed an escape from my death grip. She abandoned me in the care of the very large, cankled, bespectacled, and mustached Miss B. I cried for an hour, or so until we were given peanut butter cookies and small cartons of milk with straws. My brand new dress, one of 3, was itchy all day.
In Miss B’s room, our rectangular desks were adjacent, situated concentrically in 2 U-shaped rows. Early in the first year, I was minding my own coloring business, and somewhat intoxicated by the smell of freshly mimeographed paper, when I was tapped on the shoulder by my classmate on the left. I turned, off guard, naive, and unsuspecting. To my surprise and ultimate terror, she exposed herself. I was instantly traumatized. I cried. I probably feigned illness the next morning.
The playground was mostly fun. Chalked hopscotch patterns on cement, a high and fast slide, whirley-gig, monkey bars. It reminded me of the cool play area at the drive-in. I developed a crush on a little boy with an easy laugh and sparkly eyes. To be included with him in a game of chase was thrilling. Then, after one exceptionally rowdy recess, I came to a horrible realization: one of my pigtails had come down. I appeared lopsided, one-eared, a fool. The boy I had come to like certainly did notice, and that was why he was laughing and pointing. I probably feigned illness the next morning.
Another fateful day, I ate someone’s glue. With a ruler, Miss B severely whacked the palm of my right hand. It hurt badly, I cried. I probably feigned illness the next morning. In retrospect, only would I deem righteous such severe punishment in regard to my singing with my cousin, in front of a rapt class, our heartfelt rendition of “Yellow Polka-dot Bikini”, and then continuing solo with a Johnny Crawford tune about carrying books, “looks that say I love you”, the boogie man, and a growing no-o-ose.
I enjoyed trips outside, weather permitting, to gather around the flagpole to salute and recite the Pledge. But time passed and one such outing left me haunted, taunted by chants of “Goldwater, Goldwater, he’s our man. If he can’t do it, nobody can!” How could anyone disagree with my parents?
Mostly what I regret about those early school years is having been denied my fair share of cleaning chalky erasers. I guess I missed out some of those 30 days I didn’t attend.
Mike S writes: I experienced “duck and cover,” under God added to the pledge in NYC in the 50’s. I also didn’t go to Kindergarten, because I kept getting sick when I started. It seems odd that 3 men in our age range didn’t go to Kindergarten, I thought everyone but me did.
its not weird. its a conspiracy. someone knew that 50+ years into the future there would be a kid named barak hussein obama who wold become president and you three would have to have skipped kindergarden — but only you three.
I went to Kindergarden and I think my 85 year old father still has some hot fantasy about my teacher, Mrs. Swensen, a tall leggy blonde.
FFLEO,
I experienced “duck and cover,” under God added to the pledge in NYC in the 50’s. I also didn’t go to Kindergarten, because I kept getting sick when I started. It seems odd that 3 men in our age range didn’t go to Kindergarten, I thought everyone but me did.
Pardon Me, thanks for that video reminder of ol’ Bert.
There is a 9 minute video of Bert the Turtle over at YouTube about these Civil Defense warnings. I liked those CD days then much better than the TSA/Homeland Security days of now.
Mike Appleton,
This thread is bringing up many fun, crazy childhood memories. I swear, that when I read your post last night and was unable to then reply, while I was lying in bed I thought about the Pledge and then I remembered the “duck and cover” type drills. When I posted this morning I meant to post that part of the story but forgot! Then you mentioned it and I remembered what it was that I forgot to write.
One of the funniest aspects of those emergency drills is that for a potential nuclear blast, we ducked under our desks, but for a tornado drill, we all were directed to the hallways like a bunch of cattle to sit against the wall with our hands over or head!
Remember this was Bible Belt Texas in the early to mid-1950s. By the way, you cannot blame your left of center leanings on missing Kindergarten because I missed it and I am clearly *right of center*. Maybe it was the differences in the States’ water quality…
Thanks for conjuring up those ‘fond’ memories of us 1950s ‘Little Rascals’.
Mike Spindell, did you experience this in the 50s Chicago area, or elsewhere?