2016/02/27 – North Table Mountain with Mike, Sad Day, My Day in the Barrel

Had a good ride this morning with Mike.

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Today is a sad day. Val's mother who has been staying with us since mid November left to go back home to Brazil. In the short time that she has been with us, I really grown to love her and will miss her.
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When I was in the 4^th grade, I got expelled from school. One morning, at the recommendation of my teacher Mrs. Venturi, Father Fusco the principal and parish head priest, told me to go home, that I was expelled!

I think most kids would have been frightened to go home, or maybe unhappy to be kicked out, but not me. In fact I remember it being one of the happiest days of my life.

At that time my parents both worked and didn’t get home until dark, so I had the rest of the day to play outside. A block away from my house was a big wooded empty lot where kids played in the dirt under massive elm trees.

Earlier in the year, someone had dumped a huge wooden wine barrel in the lot and the kids all played inside. But on this day all the other kids were in school, so I had the barrel all to myself.

I just remember endlessly rolling all through the lot inside the barrel, with this incredible sense of freedom, as if I had escaped from prison.

I hated Catholic school, my teacher hated me, and I hated her. She was a real piece of work. I have vivid recollections of her repeatedly slapping me, while screaming "Get that look off your face!" In later years I heard rumors that they eventually locked her up.

Anyway it was really a wonderful afternoon in the barrel, one that I will always treasure, but it all ended quickly when my parents got home.

They dragged me by the ear in front of Father Fusco, making me apologize and beg to let me back into prison.

Later,
Steve