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A Good Book for School
Miss Loretta Bunker come to us one January and took over teachin’ duties from Missus Hutton who had slipped on the ice Christmas Eve and broke her hip. Now, we knew Miss Loretta hailed from up in Jefferson County and they just did things different up there than we do here in Gapville. Anyhow, for a teacher it seemed she shore did need more schoolin’ her own self.
One mornin’ she started class all breathless — she got that way whenever she was excited about somethin’. This one time she looked over my shoulder while I was figurin’ my maths and she fairly squeeked when she praised me. That time I found it sorta charmin’. But this one mornin’ she come in all, “Get to your seats, children.” Me and the other older kids hated it when she called us “children” so right off I knew this’d be somethin’ stupid.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” ’tweren’t nothin’ good ever started out that way, “next week is Literacy Week. Say that word with me please, ‘literacy’… LIT… ruh… seee. Very good. Now, literacy refers to one’s ability to read and write. Those are skills we are learning here in school, skills of which you should be very proud. And next week we will be celebrating your literacy.”
Well, about all we heard in all that was “celebratin’” ’cause we knew that meant a party. Bobby gone on to hootin’ but he was caught up short straight off by Miss Loretta shushin’ ‘im.
“I have for each of you,” how she did go on, “a note to your parents.” We all fell about the place then. We hadn’t done nothin’ to give no call for a note to our parents! “Not that kind of note,” she explained, “this is an announcement. I’m asking them to let you bring their favorite book to school next week to share with everyone. I have cleared off a shelf here. Assure your parents that we will take very good care of their books. And we will read selected passages from those books all next week.”
I don’t know for shore how many of us really took that note home. I admit I managed to lose mine on the way — totally by accident, I swear! But Miss Loretta musta figgered we weren’t too keen on the idea or was just coverin’ all her bases ’cause that Sunday at church she made a point of tellin’ all our parents that she hoped they might could send a good book to school that week. And she took no notice of the puzzled looks she got all ’round. “Just want to borrow a good book for the week,” she chirped again.
She seemed to have the air let outa her the next mornin’ though. Seems Mary Louise was the only one t’bring one in and it sat there all by its lonesome on that shelf all week. It was a little worse for wear, but it was leather-bound quality and a good book for shore. It was King James version of course….
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Posted on January 22nd, 2010 9 comments9 responses to “A Good Book for School”
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I like how the use of language blends in with the story itself.
Thanks, Diandra. Once I got the idea for the story most of the work went into trying to get the language right. I’m glad it worked for you. I think some people will find it distracting. ~Tim -
G.P. Ching January 22nd, 2010 at 13:57
You might be a redneck if….. I don’t live in the south but I have visited and you captured the native dialect quite well. Not a Fred or Ginger in sight! Funny story with good characterization.
Thanks, G.P. I grew up in the south but not in as rural an area as where I placed this story. I actually imagined one of my college roommates telling this story to get the voice right. I’m glad it worked. ~Tim -
Not THE good book! Ole Miss Loretta shoulda been more clear ’bout that! I enjoyed reading this so much I felt sad when it was over!
Great story and great use of the language. It’s done just enough. Thanks for sharing this! ~ Olivia
Thanks, Olivia. Miss Loretta did get just what she asked for, of course. I glad you liked it. Characters like these chatter away in my head all the time so I expect I’ll have similar stories for you in the weeks ahead. ~Tim -
I thought maybe you’d end up with some of those girlie magazines… Great story!
Thanks, Laura. I suppose girlie magazines make it into every classroom, they just don’t make it onto the bookshelf. ~Tim
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Great dialog, it’s so hard to get that southern speak down without overdoing it. This one made me sad, I hate to say. Not your writing (that was great) but the idea that the only book important enough to share was the bible…sigh….sadness
Thanks, Shannon. It’s nice to know I haven’t lost my ear for southern speak. Where I live now I don’t hear it often. [I miss it!] You might think Miss Loretta would be more specific than to ask for a good book in the bible belt. ~Tim
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This story reminds me of a bumper sticker that said something like, “If it’s not the King James Version, it’s not a Bible,” such an odd reaction given that the KJV is a poetic but one of the worst translations in print. So Shannon’s right about this being sad, but also too close to reality (I live in Texas). Interesting story, Tim. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks, Kim. I’ve seen that bumper sticker too. [I usually describe it as the scariest bumper sticker I've ever seen.] ~Tim
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Great voice and slice of some country thinking.
Enjoyed it – but also felt a bit sorry for the teacher, good intentions and all.
Thanks, CJ. Teachers tend to be a resilient lot [yes, I'm biased] and I think she found some teachable moments [pardon the jargon] that week. ~Tim -
I hope she tried to infiltrate them with some DH Lawrence, or something!
Doubt it somehow though. Good voice here!
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Beautifully written, and as it was said before, it’s sad that that was the only book to share…
Thanks, Estrella. At least there are some good stories in the book. ~Tim
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