Thank you, Mamawolfe, for nominating me for the ‘Sassy’ Award! I must tell seven things about myself, and pass the award onto others.
*In first grade, my teacher kept me after school until it was dark because I refused, and I mean refused to draw a turkey with its tail feathers up and all different colors. I drew turkey after turkey, each time with its tail feathers down. I kept telling her that 1) only male turkeys raised their tail feathers, and 2) they were speckled brown. Seeing wild turkeys most of my six years, I knew this to be the truth. She finally gave up.
*I once said “Son of a bitch” to my fourth sixth grade teacher. A boy dared me to say it. You see, I really didn’t know it was swearing. My brothers, father, and grandfather said that phrase several times a day. I didn’t get in trouble, but it was a close call.
*My brother Robert could persuade me to do almost anything. Once he talked me into cleaning a catfish he had caught. I had cleaned other fish, but they had scales. The catfish had to be skinned. I did it, but never again.
*The only thing I ever shoplifted was an English walnut. I was four years old, shopping with my mother at our small local grocery store. I came upon a huge box of these nuts, and each one had a blue diamond stamped on it. I got so excited. I took one and ran out to the car where my grandmother (a strict woman, let me tell you) was waiting. I showed it to her, and she bawled me out. She marched me inside, made me apologize to the owner, and put the nut back. You can tell how traumatized I am.
*In fourth sixth grade (obviously a big year) a kind neighbor discovered that I loved art. She painted in oil, producing lovely stuff. One day she showed up at our farm house with all sorts of almost empty tubes of oil paint, a variety of brushes, and a “How to Paint” book by John/Jon Gnagy. Her kindness set my love for art on fire. I will never forget her.
*When I was a young mother with three children, my husband’s family owned real estate company purchased a hotel in Ireland. We sold everything we owned, packed up the rest into a crate the side of a small garden shed, and moved to County Cork. For three + years, we owned and operated the property along with my brother-in-law, Patrick. Oh, the stories I could tell on that.
*When we returned to California from Ireland, I started/re-started teaching at the age of 37. Everyone assumed I was very experienced and a ‘master teacher’. It was the steepest and most exciting learning curve I have ever had to do. I loved it.
There you go: more than you ever wanted to know about me! Since this is such a busy time, I will select only a few other sassy writers I know:
