If this were the day after Labor Day — and it is — and if I spotted you a few decades — and I will — you would find me primed and eager to begin a new school year. I only wish!
Ah, how I looked forward to getting back to school. Maybe it was the smell of books and chalk and lunch boxes stashed in desks, but it was all new and exciting. Getting back to school and seeing friends after a long summer was one of the most exciting events in my young life. Maybe I was a nerd, but it was not just the end of summer, it was a beginning which offered something new and, potentially exciting, every day.
I had never heard of a back pack. I had to carry a load of tablets, a new “pencil box,” a new box of crayons and, rather reluctantly, a small tin of water colors. It wasn’t that I was disinterested in art, but I never did master water colors. My drawings were more water than color and I never appreciated the medium until I met Salty Seamon.
Every new year at school was an adventure waiting to happen, but no “first day” could begin to match my first day in first grade. I can still close my eyes and picture Miss Meeker. She went right to work on her new class with the goal of teaching us to read and, maybe more important, teaching us to enjoy reading. When our primer adventurerers Dick and Jane began to produce yawns, she would sit us in a circle and read to us. My favorite was “Alice in Wonderland.” I still try to reread it every now and then. Few things intrigue me more than the wonders Alice encountered down that rabbit hole.
I suppose Alice’s adventures would seem pale today. Could a talking rabbit or a Cheshire cat compare with alien creatures?
Alas, Labor Day no longer offers that special magic for me. School has already been in session for a week or more. I’m told that school starts earlier than September because rules dictate that football practice is allowed only “X” number of days prior to the start of school and, football schedules being what they are, we need more time to get all those games played before the next season, or time change, or snow or whatever brings football season to an end.
Still, as my Best Friend and I head out to the Sports Center these early mornings, it is reassuring to see kids standing out along the streets waiting for the school bus. These days they have a back pack slung over their young shoulders. I no longer know what is inside those back packs. Surely the younger kids still carry crayons, but lots more colors now than when I had a choice of eight or 16 colors. I would guess they have pages of homework too, no doubt a lot more than I had, but then there were never more than about 18 kids in my classes. Wouldn’t that be a dream class for today’s teachers?
I watch those kids as they wait and hope they are looking forward to being back in school. I hope they are eager to learn and I hope they do learn. Maybe, decades from now, they will have a lot of very happy memories of their school years.
If this were the day after Labor Day — and it is — and if I spotted you a few decades — and I will — you would find me primed and eager to begin a new school year. I only wish!
Ah, how I looked forward to getting back to school. Maybe it was the smell of books and chalk and lunch boxes stashed in desks, but it was all new and exciting. Getting back to school and seeing friends after a long summer was one of the most exciting events in my young life. Maybe I was a nerd, but it was not just the end of summer, it was a beginning which offered something new and, potentially exciting, every day.
I had never heard of a back pack. I had to carry a load of tablets, a new “pencil box,” a new box of crayons and, rather reluctantly, a small tin of water colors. It wasn’t that I was disinterested in art, but I never did master water colors. My drawings were more water than color and I never appreciated the medium until I met Salty Seamon.
Every new year at school was an adventure waiting to happen, but no “first day” could begin to match my first day in first grade. I can still close my eyes and picture Miss Meeker. She went right to work on her new class with the goal of teaching us to read and, maybe more important, teaching us to enjoy reading. When our primer adventurerers Dick and Jane began to produce yawns, she would sit us in a circle and read to us. My favorite was “Alice in Wonderland.” I still try to reread it every now and then. Few things intrigue me more than the wonders Alice encountered down that rabbit hole.
I suppose Alice’s adventures would seem pale today. Could a talking rabbit or a Cheshire cat compare with alien creatures?
Alas, Labor Day no longer offers that special magic for me. School has already been in session for a week or more. I’m told that school starts earlier than September because rules dictate that football practice is allowed only “X” number of days prior to the start of school and, football schedules being what they are, we need more time to get all those games played before the next season, or time change, or snow or whatever brings football season to an end.
Still, as my Best Friend and I head out to the Sports Center these early mornings, it is reassuring to see kids standing out along the streets waiting for the school bus. These days they have a back pack slung over their young shoulders. I no longer know what is inside those back packs. Surely the younger kids still carry crayons, but lots more colors now than when I had a choice of eight or 16 colors. I would guess they have pages of homework too, no doubt a lot more than I had, but then there were never more than about 18 kids in my classes. Wouldn’t that be a dream class for today’s teachers?
I watch those kids as they wait and hope they are looking forward to being back in school. I hope they are eager to learn and I hope they do learn. Maybe, decades from now, they will have a lot of very happy memories of their school years.
Liz Ciancone
LIZ CIANCONE: Let's hope pupils still long for school days
- Liz Ciancone
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LIZ CIANCONE: Smell of fresh air gave way to dryers
Remember when clean clothes smelled like fresh air and sunshine rather than fabric softener and dryer sheets?
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LIZ CIANCONE: Courts see a different appearance than cops
Have you ever noticed the transformation between the arrest of an accused lawbreaker and the first appearance in court?
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LIZ CIANCONE: We always want more than we need
Washington seems more preoccupied with the unemployment rate than they are about the constant stalemate. Still with thousands out of work and the unemployment rate hovering somewhere between 7 percent and 9 percent, it does deserve more than a passing nod.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Old age is in email of the beholder
My Best Friend isn’t much for writing letters, so email has opened a new world for him. He can dash off a few words to a high school friend or his college roommate — now living in Florida and Washington State,
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LIZ CIANCONE: A memory test from the oldtime radio days
For some reason, I seem to be the go-to source for all sorts of obscure information out at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Friskey no doubt was in favor of gun control
I once owned a gun. Actually, it was Dad’s gun and I was allowed to use it. He bought an air gun which shot BB’s to protect our home — in a way.
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LIZ CIANCONE: A robin stops to welcome the spring
I saw a robin the other morning. It was not the first robin of spring, of course. A few of the more daring robins had opted to spend the winter and, although they looked pretty sorry about it on a few occasions, it was a fairly mild winter.
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LIZ CIANCONE: The mystery of the small animal mascot
I hope you won’t think I’m picking on small animals, but I’ve been thinking about Easter and the Easter bunny.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Rising up to defend the poor groundhog
I read in the newspaper the other morning that Punxsatawney Phil is being hauled into court and charged with falsely predicting an early spring. I am volunteering my services as counsel for the defense.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Keeping eye out for signs of spring
The problem with expecting a groundhog to predict the arrival of spring is that there are groundhogs scattered all over the country. The Pennsylvania groundhog may not see the same kind of weather as the groundhog out here in Dobbs Park. In this way, false hopes are roused and the groundhog loses credibility as a meteorologist.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Not every other name smells sweet as a rose
It was either Romeo or Juliet who said, “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
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LIZ CIANCONE: Innocence appreciated when you’re growing up
I grew up rather stupid. I didn’t realize it at the time. Neither did my teachers who seemed to think I had “promise.”
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LIZ CIANCONE: Years along rivers make them feel like home
I’ve been following plans for celebrating “The Year of the River” with interest. Rivers have played such a role in my life that I’ve celebrated a good many rivers. The Wabash River is merely the most recent example.
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LIZ CIANCONE: There are always cat stories to be told
I was asked the other day why I write about dogs I have known, but never about cats. “What’s the matter?” they asked, “Don’t you like cats?”
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LIZ CIANCONE: Sharing the family history
My Grandmother lived with us. Ed and I were eager audiences for her family stories about the Cooks. Mom also shared her memories of growing up with three brothers.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Do we want our privacy or not?
We Americans are a strange bunch. We insist upon our right to privacy, yet we neglect few opportunities to parade our personal business in public.
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LIZ CIANCONE: The low humor of Mickey Mantis
I’m told that a pun is the lowest form of humor. I guess that typecasts me! I love them, but then, I like any type of word play.
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LIZ CIANCONE: For now, justice is served in Bball Hall
News this past week brought justice of a sort. The folks who decide these things have declined to pick anyone to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame this year.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Well, what would you do with only 1 sock?
Let me ask you something.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Movie memories don’t include many of the lengthy variety
There has been lots of reporting lately about how long movies are becoming.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Resist that big ‘let down’ on the day after Christmas
Today is the big day. That makes tomorrow a sort of let down — rather like “What have you done for me lately?”
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LIZ CIANCONE: No thanks to getting mags delivered via the Internet
I am a creature of habit. I like to know what I’m doing and I need to know how to do it. That’s why I am annoyed when corporate America seems determined to drag me, kicking and screaming into the age of Internet.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Everyone has a favorite holiday
I suppose everyone has a favorite holiday. My guess is that, for most of us, that holiday is Christmas. It's a holiday with a miracle no matter how old we get.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Christmas season puts time back into focus
It’s a funny thing about time. It can speed along so that you cannot believe that your kids can possibly be old enough to have good sense, or it can drag its heels while you wait for that first grandchild or while you are saving up for something really special.
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LIZ CIANCONE: The bottom line is what drives ‘Black Friday’ sales
Why is it called "Black Friday"?
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LIZ CIANCONE: Have we lost the meaning of holiday?
I’ve been considering a lost-and-found ad to see if anyone knows what’s happened to Thanksgiving.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Magic is always there with live theater
I’m a pushover for live theater. But movies? Not so much. For me it’s like the difference between canned peas and those picked fresh from the garden. Movies even COME in cans.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Maybe the Cubs will win it all next year
I was relieved to have the World Series ending before the snow flies. Heck, it didn’t even last into November this year.
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LIZ CIANCONE: Holiday decorating better when personal, simple
I fear that I am becoming an old poop!
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LIZ CIANCONE: Surprises from mail worth the extra penny
I understand that the cost of pursuing my hobby will be going up by a penny come the year 2013.
- More Liz Ciancone Headlines
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LIZ CIANCONE: Smell of fresh air gave way to dryers
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
Raw: Widespread Destruction in Moore, Okla.
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Huge Tornado Kills Dozens Near Oklahoma City
Active Search for Utah Missing Mom Ends
Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety
Voters Could Elect LA's First Female Mayor
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
Oklahoma Gov: 'Hearts Are Broken' After Tornado
Raw: Aussie Zoo Shows Off White Rhino Calf
Raw: Walking in a Flattened Okla. Neighborhood
MLB Hoping for Large Replay Expansion in 2014
Horse Saved From Slaughter, Goes on to Win Big
Raw: Aerials Show Path of Oklahoma Destruction
Raw: Suspects Butt Dial 911, Lead to Arrest
Raw: Witness Describes Scene After Okla. Tornado
Raw: House Burns After Massive Oklahoma Tornado
Pug Life on Display at Wisconsin Festival
RAW: Massive tornado strikes Oklahoma
RAW: Xbox One debuts
VIDEO: Teacher reunites mother and son after tornado levels elementary school in Oklahoma City
Jennifer Lawrence Gets Naked and Painted Blue as X-Men's Mystique
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
Pickler's Dance Moves Cause A Stir
Obama to tornado survivors: The country stands beside you
Reporter Cries Over Devastation
Sneak Peek: 'Modern Family' Says Good Bye
Trailer: 'The Last Stand' Available on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Digital Download
IWitness Look at Moore, OK Tornado
RAW: Moore, OK tornado touches down near school
Robert Pattinson Moves Out
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
Oklahoma tornado survivor: "Everything is gone"
Khloe Lashes Out at Kim Kardashian's Critics
Couple Argues As Woman's Lover Crawls Out Window
RAW: Brad Paisley Forgets Lyrics To His Own Song
Justin Bieber Gets Booed
