Fourth Grade and My Special Friend

Fourth grade was like a breath of fresh air.  I was in  the strict teacher’s class; the other teacher was easy going; always happy, but I was to find out  my teacher was safe.  The schedule was written on the board the every morning, and as a child who liked predictability and that made me feel secure.  My teacher  introduced me to some cool chapter books; she actually read TO us.  She made us write stories, and eventually that gave me the idea that I maybe I could actually write.  I soared in her class, because she saw me as a whole person, and not as kid with problems.  I also think fourth grade was also enriched because I had a special friend who was just a year younger than I was.  Our parents had been reacquainted at a PTA meeting the previous April.   We  were similar in personality and tastes.  Her father pastored a church nearby. In its nascent stages it, met in her house.  That fascinated me … going to church in one’s home !  She also had her very own creek behind  her house. Of course  we were cautioned about  it, but we could always imagine. She also owned a dalmation; I had only read stories about such dogs. I thought such dogs were always black and white. Hers was tan with brown spots; I was later to learn he was  merely dirty form rolling around in Carolina red dirt. They eventually moved to another location with a church and parsonage adjoining.  When my mother saw the house, there was a flicker of recognition. My grandmother had been married in that very house fifty years previous  to my friend’s  church owning it.  Our family had ties to that area of  town, and Grandma had told stories to my mom about her earlier years.  I could just imagine her coming down the stairwell of the house as a bride.  And such adventures we both dreamed up in that house! 

Around the same time, the Bible Club that had met at the Acklands’  home relocated to our home.  It would be meeting in the basement of our house on Fridays.  Our house seemed the perfect location, as we  could entice the children coming home from the local elementary school where I attended.  The same woman who had assisted the Acklands would be the Bible teacher, song leader, and anything else the club required.  We simply provided the snacks and the location.  Those were  generally happy days.   I wanted to bask in the security of childhood forever, but I would learn that time stands still for no one.