Band
Mrs. Hisel and the YCWO
Ollie J. Dykes and the black snake
Appendicitis
At one point in my freshman year I was called out of class and told to report to the Physical Science classroom. A couple of teachers were waiting to ask me questions about my tests. In several classes teachers had noticed that my answers were sometimes verbatim from the book. They had watched me and were sure I was not copying the answers but wanted to know how I was doing it.
I just explained that sometimes I could recall exactly where a subject was discussed in the text book, would call up that page in my mind and copy down the appropriate sentences that answered the question. They seemed a little dumbfounded and after a few questions they asked if I could show them. I couldn't do it by page numbers but when they described a page or its subject from our science book I would bring it to mind and read some lines of text to them. Both teachers seemed very impressed and complimented me on my talent. At the end of the interview they asked if I would please write the answers in my own words so they could be sure I understood the subject.
This made sense to me and from that point on I stopped doing it. It was not something that I needed to do that often and I'm not sure when it started. I never really "discovered" I could do it or was aware there was anything unusual about it, I just did it. The real reason I stopped is that I never wanted to appear odd, I just wanted to be like every one else. When a teacher and my mother discussed in front of me the score I had made on an I. Q. test I thought it was ridiculous. They made out like I was some budding genius and I knew how stupid I really was and was all too aware of the vastness of what I didn't know. I didn't want another label that made me different so I refused to take any I. Q. test that was given me in future years.
I was not very socially integrated. The church was another world where I had grown up, knew my way around, had friends and lived very comfortably. But the strict religious beliefs made me a strange outsider in high school. I couldn't go to dances and my parents were not a part of the rich country club set. Being in the band helped because I was required to attend football and basketball games where we performed and did not need a social attachment to be there. And then there was Frank Smart.
When we moved to Hampton Avenue I changed schools to Hannah McClure where Frank attended. But I didn't really get to know him until high school.