Page 7

20244PG

George “Nick” Hunt, a Moore County, N.C. native, served four years in the Air Force and worked 32 years for Hughes Aircraft Company in California as a Laboratory Manager. He retired from Hughes in 1988, returned to the Sandhills with his late wife, Shirley, and (in 1989) became the Moore County Veterans Service Officer; he served as president of the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers (2001-2002). Now retired, he lives in Carthage, N.C. with his daughter and two grandchildren. THE BOARD OF EDUCATION con't. next column THE BOARD OF EDUCATION continued The Board of Education by George Nick Hunt “The ‘Board’ of Education:” There may be those among you who have never experienced the application of this tool of learning—the “Board of Education”—upon your seat, but let me assure you that without it no education is complete. It was in the third grade at Pinehurst Elementary (Pinehurst, N.C.) that this ageold tool of learning was brought to bear upon this errant student and several others (not to be named here). Not yet eight years old, I, as boys would, failed to pay much attention on a hot and sultry day in June. The teacher, a rather large and muscular lady, was going on and on about how important the times tables were and how we must memorize them. As the next day’s assignment, we were to be able to recite the tables through the threes. All I could think of was getting out of school and playing with my brother before it was too dark. The multiplication tables were far from my mind that afternoon and evening, and so with chores and play, I failed to study. The next day, Mrs. Black walked in with a smile upon her face and greeted the class with a cheery “Good Morning.” All was right with the world, or so it seemed. The next words out of her mouth were like a sword in my heart, for she said, “Take out a clean peace of paper and write your times tables through three.” There was nowhere to hide. I felt violently sick. Maybe I’ll faint, and they’ll carry me to the principal’s office. There was no way out. I sat there with sweat running down my face and into my eyes and with a blank sheet of paper in front of me. Nowhere to hide and nowhere to run, and the worse thing was that I knew (for I had heard it straight from Dad) “If you get spanked at school, you will get another when you get home.” Without as much as a “Poor you,” Mrs. Black pointed at me and said, “Wait for me in the hall,” where I joined several other offenders in a march to the principal’s office. It was like the walk down death row. No one would even look up as we passed or say a friendly hello. Without hesitating, she marched us into the principal’s office and lined us up like on “Dragnet,” only without our lawyer present. Mr. Prince rose from his desk, began a lecture about the importance of multiplication tables and pronounced our sentence in one short breath. Mrs. Black was to apply the Board of Education to our “seats of learning,” and he never wanted to see us in his office again under these circumstances. As if walking zombies, we slowly returned to our classroom and stopped at the door, awaiting the final command: “Bend over and grab your ankles.” What followed was a searing pain felt all over our bodies, especially at the seat of Waiting by George Nick Hunt As a breeze cools the sultry air, And a rippling stream cools the night air, As the call of the night birds sooth my spirit, As the tree frog sends forth his voice, I call for her, my lover and best friend And I steal away from reality, To search for her again and again. Never again shall we walk hand in hand, Until that final day when I shall be caught away, And my love shall say, Welcome Home, I too have waited so long. �� learning, as the four-inch-thick paddle made believers out of us. Never again would I forget to do an assignment in mathematics. Much to my surprise, I actually passed the third grade and eventually graduated from Pinehurst High School. �� No. 127 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. p.7


20244PG
To see the actual publication please follow the link above