Reviews from

At Home in Mississippi

Viewing comments for Chapter 26 "School Days in the Forties"
Growing up in the 40 and 50 in MIssissippi

19 total reviews 
Comment from Karen Cherry Threadgill
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What a well written remembrance. I saw it like a movie in my head. I like cats can't have them. Every time I try I blow up like a puffer fish, and I leave snotty tissue everywhere. Not a good look. Looking forward to more stories from you. Karen

 Comment Written 23-Jun-2024


reply by the author on 23-Jun-2024
    Thank you Karen. It is a nice complicant for you to say you could see it all in your head. I really appreciate your review.
    Beth
reply by Karen Cherry Threadgill on 23-Jun-2024
    When I read, if it is good I see it. Always have. Is that weird?
    The problem with that was, when I went and saw the movie, my version had been better. :-) Karen
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
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Your opening paragraph made me smile Beth and you go on to describe some of the poor children attending your school who wore no shoes. I never saw that level of poverty in England when I was young and that must have been a painful scene. I am glad you made friends and enjoyed your school days, a fine read Beth, love Dolly x

 Comment Written 23-Jun-2024


reply by the author on 26-Jun-2024
    Thank you Dolly. I did like school but after nine month I didn't complain about getting a summer break. Thanks for the review.
    Beth
Comment from jessizero
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This latest installment in the story of your life was enthralling and captivating. You managed to capture my attention and hold it until the end, which isn't always easy to do! Things were very different when I was this age, but there are still some things that brought back memories for me. Thank you for sharing, and best wishes to you.

 Comment Written 23-Jun-2024


reply by the author on 23-Jun-2024
    I'm so glad my story was able to hold your attention. Yes, thing were very different back then but I sure the emotion felt then might not be so different.
    Beth
Comment from Begin Again
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My father grew up in a rural farming town where everyone was barely scraping by. He left school in third grade and started working the fields with his dad. It's amazing how his life was so different, and yours was different in a different way because you were in the South, and then my mom was in a northern city. Your stories are so interesting and educational as to life in the south.
Smiles, Carol

 Comment Written 23-Jun-2024


reply by the author on 26-Jun-2024
    Thank you carol for the review. Leaving school in thrid grade doesn't give you much education. My grandmother left in fifth grade because her school thought that was education for girls. My Dad left after 8th grade but he seemed to have gotten all he really needed. He did okay as a story manager. I'm glad you like my stories.
    Beth
reply by Begin Again on 26-Jun-2024
    My dad was a hard worker though. He never let the lack of education get him down. When I was born he was wheeling and dealing cars when he wasn't shoveling coal off of train cars. Later, he put that skill to work and bought 30 apartment buildings over time, fixed them up and sold them. He did all right for himself. Better than most now days.
reply by the author on 26-Jun-2024
    Wow. It proves there is lot more at stake in success than a good education. Life is good educator. If you are motivated enough you can suceed.
reply by Begin Again on 26-Jun-2024
    My father taught me there is no such word as can't.... he would never tell me I did good because he said I would stop trying to do better. We had our difficulties.But I have to say he built a good life from nothing.
Comment from Wayne Fowler
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Very nice stories.
My dad's family were day workers in the Arkansas flats. Grandpa was a share cropper for a while, but I don't know what happened. I only helped pick cotton one summer. Until they moved north for factory work, Dad would have been one of those in the back of the room.
Best wishes.

 Comment Written 23-Jun-2024


reply by the author on 24-Jun-2024
    I thought picking cotton was fun when I was three years old. I only picked about ten pounds and that was about where the fun. If anyone had told me I had, I'm sure it wouldn't have been fun. There isn't anything wrong with being a sharecropper but it hard on the kids trying to learn anything because if it isn't raining they are needed home to help.
Comment from Marilyn Hamilton
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I really enjoy the descriptive stories of your school days from yesteryear. Your memories of how the poor kids were treated brought a memory back to me. In my grade school days there were not seperate classes for the children who had mental disorders and they were shuffled into our classes. But they were treated like lepers and mostly ignored by teachers. I can remember being afraid of them because no one explained to us why they were different than we were. Thanks for sharing your stories. Very interesting.

 Comment Written 23-Jun-2024


reply by the author on 24-Jun-2024
    Thank you Marilyn. I hadn't thought about it until I read you what you said about the children with mental disorders. In my mind, I can still she those vacant eyes of those children. I was six and I never discussed it with anyone but It is quite possible some of these children had mental problems as well. Thanks for a great review.
Comment from Alexandra Trovato
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This is an authentic interesting story. I'm sure your story of school is much different from others at the time. The girls with the Chirch shoes in school clearly was judging your school for all the poor kids and gypsies that would sometimes att we nd. Her parents moved her away but at least you were able to know other kids existed. You wrote you had regrets but you were a kid and were born into society as it was. You developed compassion through life and some never do.

Best wishes

Alex


 Comment Written 23-Jun-2024


reply by the author on 26-Jun-2024
    Thank you Alex. Shirley only dressed fancy her first day but it got her accepted by everyone. Her stay was very short but I loved the cat she gave me. I have often thought of those poor kids and how badly they were treated by our class. I'm not sure they were just poor. They have had mental problems as well.
    Beth
Comment from barbara.wilkey
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Thank you for sharing memory with us. I enjoyed reading and getting a feeling of the school and the society at that time. You did a good job making the reader feel part of it.

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 Comment Written 23-Jun-2024


reply by the author on 23-Jun-2024
    Thank you Barbara. I'm glad you enjoyed my memory.
    Beth
Comment from karenina
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So interesting to read about your experiences and compare them to what the children of today face. I have a vague memory of one of our "added" classrooms being on the lower floor of our courthouse. I, too, was curious about legal goings on ~ and also enjoy books in that genre.

Your love of reading served you well! We can't go back and "undo" how we may have acted, but we were children then and we know so much more now...

"to realize we has met our competition" (had)

So many memories of long-ago school days!

Now children who didn't fit in are twice bullied as we have social media insidiously undermining their self-worth.

Karenina



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 Comment Written 23-Jun-2024


reply by the author on 24-Jun-2024
    Thank you Karenina. It was a different world back then but the memories are still clear and it doesn't seem that long ago. I know having lived the way I did then, If the power grid when out, I think I could handle it better than those born more recently.
    Beth
reply by karenina on 25-Jun-2024
    Today the Comcast/Xfinity people were here replacing cables etc... I had no landline, no TV, and no WiFi for most of the day!

    Every time the TV came on I rushed to FS...

    The rascals were teasing, with twenty minute intervals of anything working.

    What a mess! Sometimes I long for the simple life of years ago!

reply by the author on 25-Jun-2024
    That is interesting. My EPBXfintiy are supposed to be doing that today. Back in the day we would never have heard of Xfinitty.
reply by karenina on 25-Jun-2024
    It feels like they gave themselves two names so they could double the darn bill!