MY SCHOOL

Sometimes I like to dream a bit,
Of a place I used to go,
Of a little red brick school house,
And of friends I used to know.

The school house sat beside the road,
With a little creek close by,
We came to learn our A, B, C's,
And more if we would try.

One teacher taught the entire school,
All grades from one to eight,
Though many think kids learn more now,
On this I would not debate.

You really knew each one in class,
And their siblings ,that was true,
Not only did they go to school,
But they were neighbors too.

We had a tree to climb on,
With a limb to Skin the Cat,
The yard was full of sand burs,
But we learned to live with that.

We had a baseball diamond,
And we had an old wood shed,
Where we played Andy Andy Over,
Or hide and seek instead.

We had a strip of sidewalk,
That was always occupied,
With jumping rope and hop-scotch,
And in wintertime a slide.

Sometimes we'd go down to the creek,
And try to catch a frog,
And then some boys would show-off,
And walk across a log.

We played Red Rover, Fox and geese,
And also Kick the can,
And Crack the whip, and Statue,
Till we could hardly stand.

The younger ones played London Bridge,
And blind Man's Buff a lot,
And Ring Around the Rosie,
And gamed I have forgot.

When weather kept us all inside,
We'd shoot marbles and play jacks,
Or play a game called Buck-Buck,
Jumping on each others backs.

In winter time at break of day,
Some boy would start the fire,
He'd thaw the pump, and sweep the floor,
and clear the snow, when higher.

The pump stood out beside the school,
with one cup on a hook,
I guess we shared each others germs,
but we didn't stop to look.

Our central heat was one fat stove,
That burned a lot of wood,
You traded places with your friends,
And warmed as best you could.

We didn't have a modern bath,
Nor a heated swimming pool,
but in the winter, it is true,
Our toilet was "real cool".

We didn't have the "extras",
That children have to-day,
but we was taught the old three R's,
And we learned how to play.

I remember the embarrassment,
When the answer wasn't right,
And the older ones would laugh and tease,
It would sometimes start a fight.

We'd have a time of fun and games,
On Friday afternoon,
With spelling bees and quizzes,
That was over much too soon.

There are some things that hasn't changed,
Like chicken-pox and flu,
And sometimes even head lice,
And runny noses too.

And also friends that move away,
And nearly break your heart,
Though there are many classmates,
True friendship's hard to start.

Some friends I've kept throughout the years,
But most have moved away,
A name or face will cross my mind,
But the memory doesn't stay.

Now as I think of Eagle Creek,
Of friends and lessons learned,
Though I've forgotten many things,
Some memories have returned.

                                                      AUTHOR: Margaret Shankland 1995