Mr. Bill

I LOVE the story written below by a dear friend that our family has grown to love over the past year and consider as part of our family.
I am sorry Mr. Bill for all the work my husband has made you do, I try to make it up to you by inviting you over often for a home cooked meal. I REALLY appreciate all you do and put up with!
Our kids love him, his house, and when he is spotted by the Dumas Clan yelling of "Mr. Bill" and sprints to see who can get the first hug is quickly followed.
He was invited to Sudduth's Grandparents Day because not only do my kids consider him to be a bonus grandpa, but so does sweet Ben.
Enjoy his take on his eventful Sudduth lunch!

Grandparent’s Day at Sudduth Elementary

September 11, 2009

Thank you, Ben Carson, for inviting me to be your grandfather for lunch at the Sudduth Elementary School at Starkville, Mississippi on September 11, 2009. I was honored when you called me with the invitation.

Ben’s mom, Heather, picked me up late and in a panic from completing Community Market chores collecting t-shirts from Dux D’Lux. When we got to the school, his 1^st grade class met us and he was selected by their teacher, Ms Swift, to lead the class back to the classroom while Heather and I followed with other parents and “grandparents”. Ben was selected possibly because he seemed to be the fastest kid in the class, having to stop several times for us to catch up.

At the classroom we waited to get the call announcing “lunch time”. Before the call, all students were allowed to go to the wash-room, after receiving a squirt of liquid soap. The swine flu virus was spreading world-wide and most were taking extra precaution to keep there hands clean, although I imagine that this is a routine procedure at school.

This day was a “wacky-tacky-pattern” day. The teacher had colorful ruffled clothes and Ben and his classmates had colored spots on their faces. I was afraid he wanted me to be “painted”, but Ben did give me a colorful paper ring chain to put around my neck. I felt honored because I was the only guest that got this gift. Thanks, Ben. I wore it to lunch with pride.

Again, Ben was asked to lead the class to the cafeteria. But this time, he wanted me to join him. You’d think we were in a fire drill with his speed. He’d easily win a contest in speed walking. He definitely has the potential to excel on a college track team. He’d come to a screeching halt at points he apparently had been programmed to do so, allowing the slo-poks to catch up, which was everyone. I ran into him once.

We got to the cafeteria door, stopped and waited for the signal to charge in. Lunch time is chosen at different times to allow lunch for the hordes of kids I saw inside when the door was opened.

I spotted the table that Ben was darting to. It had seats the size of salad plates, about six inches from the floor and a foot apart and attached to the table. I thought….Good Lord, I’ll need your help in getting up if I sit in one of these, or suffer the humiliation of others watching 1^st graders help me up. I saw one adult chair at the end of the table and figured that was for the teacher. I was right…I saw her headed for it, but I got there a second before she did, and, being the southern gentleman that people think I am, offered it to her, but didn’t insist. She, like a southern lady, said no, you take it. I quickly sat down.

One gets to a certain age, gender doesn’t matter in getting preferential treatment. I felt sorry for the other invited adult guests who had to sit sideways to squeeze in at the table. I don’t know if Ben realized the favor, but he, being in front of me, went directly to the end of the table, setting the stage for my chair claim.

Heather, bless her heart, patiently stood in line and delivered my lunch …..a fish sandwich, a bowl of mixed fruit, corn, and milk. A very good meal! I looked down the table at the kid’s plate expecting to see piles of French fries, the southern staple dish, but saw none. Kids are eating healthier food! What’s happening? This is Mississippi!

I picked up my child-sized milk straw and soon discovered a minimum flow of milk. The capillary orifice was the size health clinics use when checking hematocrits in blood analysis. I discarded the straw and drank from the bottle. I’m a slow eater, as was my father. He & I were always the last at the table to finish. Well, after 17 minutes and before finishing, Ben grabbed my milk cap, slammed it on top of the bottle, and said lunch is over…follow me, and picked up his tray. He apparently had gotten the “let’s go” signal from the teacher and wanted to resume his leadership role to lead his flock back to the room.

The line for tray disposal wrapped around several tables, but Ben got close to the front and stopped. If we had gone to the end, the extra time taken would have delayed my nap time. As soon as a kid in line turned around to speak to his buddy, Ben darted in front of him and I followed. (more leadership skills—agression). The lady receiving the tray mumbled that people were breaking in line. I wanted to say something, but, being a guest, I didn’t.

Ben ran out the door to assume his lead position and I followed.

I thought about the differences between today and when I was in elementary school. At my school, lunch was announced by a single bell for the entire school. What happened next was similar to the Oklahoma land rush of 1889. (no, Ben, I was not there). Everyone in school wanted to be first in line, so the best runners got there first, running to a cafeteria across the street. Kids must have been tougher then as nobody was ever trampled to death. We weren’t obsessed with rules. More like survival of the fittest.

When I was in the 3^rd grade, I was in love with my teacher, Ms Acock. Once, when the bell rang for lunch, I stumbled on the pavement (yes, Ben, we had pavement back then) as I ran across the street to get in position to sit with Ms Acock. She saw me and put a bandaide on the wound and we had lunch together and I got more attention from her. It was well worth the fall. Not long afterward, she got married. She was in love with someone else. But I got over it…..by the 8^th grade. Her name was…….

The trip to Sudduth today also reminded me of my 2^nd grade teacher, Ms Peacock, who hated me, and the feeling was mutual. Back then, capital punishment was legal and encouraged. On four occasions, she pulled me to the cloak room and with a paddle (if used today it would be considered a lethal weapon with jail time) spanked my bottom. There was no “standing in the corner” or “timeouts”. Time outs were only used for sporting events. She was truly an evil woman. She would never forgive you if you didn’t hear the instructions on an assignment. She spanked me once for drawing a circle around some words. I learned the vocabulary in later grades to adequately express my feeling for her.

Ms. Peacock looked to be about 90 at the time. She usually wore a long black dress, had long white hair tied into a ball in the back, and pulled so tightly that it pulled her eyebrows up and lifted her drooping eyelids. Her face looked like an owl. I imagined that she came to school each morning riding a broom. She would fit better in a Halloween carnival than a classroom. The woman you see at Halloween flying through the sky at night on a broom? That's Ms Peacock! She was an old maid for obvious reasons. You can see why I fell in love with Ms Acock after a year looking at her. I made all B’s that year, the worst report card I ever had until I was a junior at Mississippi State.

Ben, these stories won’t have much meaning for you until you are a bit older. I want to thank you for allowing me to have a brief glimpse into what a 1^st grade class of 2009 is like. It also allowed me to reflect on my early school days in Indianola, Ms.

If you continue to be the “leader” in your classes, as I expect you to be, someday, if I am still around, I would like to be your campaign manager in a race for alderman in Starkville, possibly running against old man Dumas going for his 6^th term. But, he will probably be endorsed by President Parker Wiseman, speaking at the Neshoba County Fair. It might make the campaign a bit more difficult. I’d imagine that your campaign would be much less stressful than my involvement in the campaign of 2009 at the age of 72. I think it will be time for the Alpha Alderman Dumas Frog to retire.

Cheers to you!! I’m on your team and I’m watching!

Bill Poe

Ben’s Grandpa for a day

Sudduth Elementary School

Starkville, Mississippi

September 11, 2009