Slim Randles is here as my guest today. I know it’s not Wednesday, but the week got a little skewed with the special blog post on Tuesday, and I thought it would be good to end the week with some fun from Slim. Goodness knows we need a bit of laughter in these difficult times.
A dessert staple here in Texas is pecan pie, and I’ve acquired a taste for it in recent years. I discovered that pies made with a little less sugar are quite good. I found this recipe for Texas pecan pie at Taste of Home, and will use pecans I picked from my neighbor’s pecan tree.
Here’s a preview of what the pie might look like, if only I made those perfect crusts like my Aunt Opal did. She made it look so easy. Sigh… Anyway, I’m sure the pie will be fine. Maybe a little crumbly, but still edible.
Teachers in rural schools are special. Unlike the great city amalgamated and homogenized institutes of lower learning, the rural schools tend not to have teachers who are putting in time until their heart stops. And it’s a mixed blessing, because rural schools sometimes have to hire someone whose only qualification is a pulse. But, on the opposite side of that coin, there are those rural teachers who go down in legend for their creativity.
Like John Lewis.
After his first semester teaching at the high school, John discovered that some of the boys in class … usually the misbehavers, would raise their hands and ask to go to the restroom in the middle of a class session. He suspected, when they returned smelling like tobacco, that bodily functions weren’t the prime incentive for the trip.
So he got a stick and made a big cardboard sign and stuck it in the closet behind his desk. Then, the very next time someone indicated a peristaltic urgency, he stood and smiled and addressed the class.
“Everybody up!” he said, smiling.
The class stood, looking dumbfounded at each other.
John continued, “Since going to the restroom in the middle of class is a God-given American right, I believe it’s only fair that we all share a small part of it. So Pete, since you have asked to go, you get to lead the parade to the restroom. Okay now, Cheryl, here’s the Potty Patrol sign. You get to carry it. Let’s go!”
And with John singing his new Potty Patrol song, they all marched over to the restroom and waited outside, chanting, until Pete had finished (in an amazingly short time) and then they all marched back to class with Pete once again leading the way.
Strangely enough, the restroom trips dropped dramatically in all of John’s classes.
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Brought to you by our radio show, “Home Country with Slim Randles.” Let us know if you like it.
In addition to the radio show, Slim Randles writes the nationally syndicated column, “Home Country” that is featured in 380 newspapers across the country. He is also the author of a number of books including Saddle Up: A Cowboy Guide to Writing. That title, and others, are published by LPD Press. If you enjoy his columns here on the blog, you might want to check out the book Home Country. It features some of the best of the columns he has shared with us, as well as the 4 million readers of the newspapers where his columns appear.
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That’s all for me for today folks. I’m not sure what the weekend holds for me. I’m still trying to get out from under a nasty stomach bug that hit me early this week. It’s amazing how, when we are of a certain age, our bodies don’t bounce back as quickly as they did in those youthful days. Ah, those youthful days. 🙂
Whatever you have planned, I hope the weekend is full of fun and family and friendships. Be safe. Be happy.