The first grade.

I went to the first grade in Uintah, in a two room schoolhouse that
had a gym. I remember the first grade room had a big wooden sandbox
that was metal lined so the sand could be dampened. It was up on legs,
and I could barely reach in it to make mounds and stuff. Boys got the
cars most of the time. We got to play in the sandbox in the winter at
recess time because it was too much of a hassel to get snowsuits and
boots on to go outside. I started school when I was five years old,
but I could read, count to a hundred and say the alphabet forward and
backwards, because my Uncle Heward who was only seven years older than
me taught me all of it. We used to take the wagon and go down to the
dump. Mainly to get pop and beer bottles, but since Heward was an
avid reader, we also brought back every book we could find, A lot of
old school books sometimes. One time we found so many books, we had
to take a couple boxes and hide them in some bushes because there were
too many to bring home at one time in the wagon. We had to make three
trips to get them all. The whole family were readers. Dad didn't
read, but Mom read to him and the rest of us. Dad liked the books by
James Oliver Curwood and James B. Hendrix. Grandparents had a huge
bookcase, filled with books Heward and I collected, for the most part.
As I grew up and could read just about anything, I used to grab a book
and head out to a big hammock that my uncles put up in the trees in
front of Grandparents house. My folks never censered any of the books
I read. They figured if I could read it and understand what I read
then why bother. If i didn't understand, then there was always some
one around to explain. I got bullied a lot by Zelda Kendell and her
friends when I was in the first grade. She and her friends took my
gloves away one day in the winter and threw them in the irrigation
ditch. Good thing there was only a bit of water in it from snow melt.
I got all muddy and wet getting my gloves back and the teacher wanted
to know what happened. When I told her, she was mad as all get out.
Wrote notes home to all the girls parents. Needless to say they all
got in trouble and I got called every name in the book, but at least
they didn't touch me or my things for a few years. But thats another
story.