The school year of 1990-1991, was a wonderful watershed teaching year for me. I had taught the previous six years at Ulatis Elementary School in Vacaville (city proper) mostly primary grades two through four. While I love teaching, the primary grades were not my forte and I was finally able to get transferred to Elmira Elementary School to teach Grade Six. This school was comprised of portable classrooms surrounding a small original school building dating from the 1930’s. It served the outlying rural areas of Vacaville and even boasted a small “farm” of animals and gardens that were the students’ responsibility. The administration included a great Vice Principal, Shelly Dally, who was an inspired and outstanding educator.
One of the draws of the school site was its VERY close proximity to the Southern Pacific Main Line from the Bay Area to Sacramento. Huge speeding “hot” freights roared by seven or eight times a day and shook the portables with their passing. Teacher Parrish most always contrived to be by the door of his portable to scan the freight as it passed! This also was the year that Daniel did Fifth Grade with Mr. May in the adjoining portable. We had transferred him from Valley Oak School in Davis, to avoid a teacher personality issue. It was wonderful to have my Boyo go to work with me and be able to see him playing at recess and in Mr. May’s room hard at work on Allen’s many creative projects. But, I digress from the real story here.
Often, on weekends, I would go to work and do lesson planning for the next week. Just as often, Dan and Becca would accompany me (many times riding in the 1930 Chevrolet truck) and Dan would proudly show her the “farm” and the school and they would play in the yard with recess balls from my room. Other times they would draw and work quietly on projects of their own at one of the student desks while I waltzed about the room gathering materials, referencing teacher’s manuals or going to the office to make copies. When I was done, then began the fun!!!!!
When I had moved from Ulatis and was cleaning out the portable before the school year began, I had discovered several large cloth sewn beanbags which were in the shape of vegetables. I remember a carrot, a bell pepper, celery and an eggplant. Their purpose was lost in the annals of the past but we invented a fun game using them. Closing the windows and blacking out the room totally, we chased each other and tried to hit the other person with a flying vegetable. Squeals, screams, grunts, groans (mostly from me), giggles, laughter, strange oinking sounds (mostly from the kids) filled the darkness to the accompaniment of crashing desks, thumps on the walls and sliding chairs. The end of the game would usually find us exhausted, lying on the floor, gasping for breath and laughing uproariously. I remember many bruises on my knees and I think now that I came out the loser most often. Try as we might we were never able to coax Cece down to the school. She had heard of our crazy game and perhaps she was the smartest one of all!
Sadly, the shenanigans in Elmira lasted only one year as we moved to Yakima in the summer of 1991. Working in Vacaville was a graced period of personal reconstruction for me from the pits of alcoholism. I was a rejuvenated teacher (and father) and that time will forever be special. Those were wonderful times that I cherish fondly.
JP 12-29-2011
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