That's what I remember

Yesterday I'm working on the lawn here and there.. And I come to the pine tree in the front yard and it is looking great, quite well and as I am raking around it this smell wafts up and it is the pine tree, but not just the pine tree.. Or I should say not that pine tree although it is that pine tree, it is the pine tree smell from everywhere.. And it got me thinking of that pine tree or pine smell from the first school I would ever attend.. The grade school had pine trees and shrubs around the entirety of the front and sides of the building and the walkway around the school had the pine trees and shrubs all over.. That smell will always mean school.. But also the entry to the grade school had that smell to it.. Not pine but rather the smell it had.. No other school had that smell to it.. The high school didn't have that smell nor did any other school in our conference or any school that I visited for whatever the reason.. Just the grade school had that smell, and years later I would smell it again when I worked as a substitute custodian..  Where did that smell come from???   Then there was the paper room.. That smell was unlike anything else.. I loved going in there for that smell.  It can be equaled by going by the school supplies in late July/early August at the local department store.. it is only that time of the year that the smell is that prevalent...

Now schools are getting out everywhere and the kids are running .. or I should say they were yesterday.. What was going on here yesterday??  It seemed like a scavenger hunt or something.. I remember one year as we got into the later parts of the school year that our history teacher had a particular end of the school term test he devised and it was called how well do you know your town.. And he asked what might be considered to be stupid questions but it was actually quite interesting because I didn't know.. It was great to see how much he knew that we didn't.. Questions like signs here and there and I went out after that and found the answers.. One of them was where is this sign with the STP sticker on it.. At the time it was a speed limit sign a block south of the high school across from the Methodist church.. I knew that was there, and was since I started to school.. More than likely put there on a Halloween deface things night..   My memories of May from school days are that that was the best part of the school year..  A lot of the kids got squirt guns and tried to get away with squirting people.. Little did they know that I didn't care, it was only water and felt cool on those days the school was getting warm to be in (back then there was no central air).. I never felt like I could use a squirt gun since my dad was the principal, I didn't want to get in trouble nor did I want to find out that my punishment wasn't as bad as theirs was..  Grade school field trips were fun.. The next to last day were spent cleaning the lockers and desks and the last days were picnic days..  The best times of school.. Then summer started and the dread to August and the start of the new school term, but that's forever and a day away..

Badge Henry