Impressions

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Saturday is Independence Day and the appropriately written wise saying for the month of July is “Freedom is a package deal; with it comes responsibilities and consequences.” May God bless our volunteer troops who accept their responsibilities to preserve our freedom and serve our country despite the hardships involved.

The trees and bushes which bowed to the heavy snow are being felled by our extreme drought. I hate to imagine what a strong storm could do to my woods.

I thought I heard a slight patter on my roof, a sprinkle maybe, then a rumble of thunder. A spatter of raindrops appeared on the porch as the sky darkened. Could we be getting some RAIN? No, not this day.

Back to the classroom with its many challenges: Mrs. Heflin brought Melissa to the door, a bit late, and motioned me outside to talk. “Melissa’s seventeen year old sister, Karen, ran away from home yesterday. Melissa’s quite close to her and cried the whole night. She wanted to stay home from school, in case Karen came back, but I insisted she’d be better here at school. I’ve promised to call if we get any word on Karen. I know Melissa’s mind will be more occupied here that at home. If she gets too bad, don’t hesitate to call, and I’ll come get her.” I sympathized with her plight, knowing how worried both of them had to be. I promised to do everything I could to keep Melissa busy and make every effort to encourage her to stay at school. I wished Mrs. Heflin luck in finding Karen. She thanked me but said, “Karen’s a very independent girl who can take care of herself quite well, but then, you just never know what could happen.”

When I came inside, Melissa wanted to know if her mama had told me about Karen and asked to talk to me outside, too. I said, “Sure, come on out.” She began crying and talking at the same time, and even if she did not manifest the typical speech patterns of cerebral palsy, it would have been impossible to have understood what she said. Eventually I caught something about … “love Karen best”, so I said,

“Melissa, I know you’re worried and upset about your sister, but would Karen want you to hang around crying?” She stammered and stuttered and finally admitted that her sister wouldn’t want that. “Okay, then. If you start feeling like you can’t control your feelings and need to cry, you can go into the time-out area, or, sit behind my desk where no one can see you. Try real hard not to cry, for Karen wouldn’t want you to be upset. I know she wouldn’t now would she?”

“Uh, no,…uh…o…kay,….Mrs. Smith. I’ll… uh…try.” And she did well for the remainder of the day. She was such a dramatic child, one who easily got caught up in the expression of her feelings, like many emotionally disturbed children. These same qualities were the ones which made her such a success as the lead actress in our play last year.

Later that night, it must have been after 10 P.M., I was crawling into bed when the phone rang. I answered to hear, “Hello, Mrs. Smith. It’s Charlotte Heflin. Melissa has locked herself in the bathroom, and we can’t get her to open the door. Her father could have coaxed her out, but he’s already left town. Terri, her sister, and I have tried for an hour and a half. Look, I know how she listens to you ----would you mind coming over to see if you can entice her out?” I agreed to come and asked her where they lived.

She gave me some directions, I threw on some clothes and headed for their house. The whole story emerged when I arrived. “Terri and Melissa had a big fight over Karen, and Terri said something like ‘Karen’s always caused the family so much trouble with her fighting and cursing, maybe it’s best she’s left.’ Well, Melissa just freaked out and has been hiding under the bathroom sink every since. Look, you can see her through the keyhole. Say, I do appreciate your coming over here, on moment’s notice, like this.”

I knocked on the door and said, “Melissa, can you open the door?” She asked who I was, then asked what I was doing there, so I said, “Trying to get you out of the bathroom, of course. Please open the door and talk to me.” She began a tirade about how she hated Terri because Terri hated Karen, and she did not want to see Terri. Mrs. Heflin spoke up to inform her that Terri has been sent to her room and was punished. She encouraged her to talk to me.

I said, “Come on, Melissa, open the door.” I could see she had not moved an inch, so I started acting silly, half screaming and half singing, “I hear ya knockin’, but you can’t come in.” I continued to bang on the door, spouting the song. Soon Melissa began laughing and giggling and opened the door. The rest next week.

On this date in 1788, the U.S. Constitution took effect, and in 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot by a mentally disturbed man while entering a railroad station in Washington. He died Sept. 19, 1881 in NJ. The Forgotten English word of the day is “grimgribber” which means a lawyer and/or the technical jargon used by a lawyer. This day was celebrated as the Feast of Sts. Processus and Martinian who were supplicated against perjury.

See you outdoors!