Knock Out

They say change is good.

Well, big changes have come to the old Pioneer school. It started when the county bought the building from the city. First the city offices moved and then the new library was built. (Certainly can't complain about that). But I was shocked to drive by and find that they were knocking down the entire gym/stage wing. When I stopped to think of it, many of my early memories were housed in that school.

That's where I went to kindergarten. I ate snacks and had a nap there each day. I stared out the big windows, waiting for my mom to pick me up, and played with By Whiting when she forgot. I learned that while "ants on a log" were adequate, my mom's sugary snacks were the best.

In third and fourth grade, I learned to play the recorder in the music room. I learned to love the library, even volunteering to help out during recess. (Yeah, I was one of THOSE kids for a while there). I played my first organized basketball in the gym, and won my first (and only) championship there as well.

I learned to be deathly afraid of the lunch lady there as well. (Bless her heart). Back then, we had these little cards that had your name and the numbers 1-10 on them. Each day that you bought lunch, the lunch lady would punch your card. Forgetting or losing your card was a sin that should have been included by Moses up on Mount Sinai. Truthfully, I never remember actually losing my own card, but I had seen the pain of others. I would stand in line each day, clutching my card, checking my hand every ten seconds in fear that it would magically disappear as I moved down the hall.

I learned that school enchiladas taste best with a bunch of Saltine Crackers crunched over the top.

But since then, I've learned that change is inevitable. So we'll just have to wait and see what other changes are coming for the old school.