Third Grade Memories: Again

If I Could, I don't Think I Would Want To Do It Again.

This was posted some time ago, so this is for those who like to read something twice and see what they missed the first time.

If you haven’t read it before, I am just being nice and letting you read it without any apology on your part.

In the third grade, I knew I couldn’t read as fast as the rest of the class. My teacher knew it, too. That is why she set this Electric Reading Machine on my desk. She plugged it into the wall socket and set the reading speed slightly slower than the average third-grader could read.

Her instructions were simple. Read the lines of the story as fast as possible so they don’t disappear before you get to the end of each line. Then, when finished reading the story, answer the questions about the story you read.

I couldn’t read the lines of print before they disappeared from view. The story had no meaning when that many words were skipped. When taking the quiz, I was good at guessing but poor at guessing the right answers.

Naturally, the teacher reset the speed for me and asked me again to do my very best with another story. Again, the words at the ends of the sentences disappeared before I could read them, and of course, I achieved the same results when she corrected the quiz. I am thankful I can’t remember if she said, “At least, you are good at guessing.”

Reason Discovered, But Never Solved

To make any sense of the meaning of a word, I had to sound out (or say to myself) each word. This made for slow reading.

This weakness followed me through high school and on even to now. To overcome this weakness for reading-type classes, I spent extra time reading the assigned chapter word by word.

I was thankful for one thing during my high school years. I was a “loner.” I was content to be by myself. So, I took my school books home almost every night “to study.” I don’t know if the other nine classmates ever knew this or even thought of this being the reason I always took my books home every night.

Since you know my weakness, let me add a positive note so you won’t feel sorry for me. I got good grades and was the Salutatorian in our class of 10 students. I was always pushing “that pretty girl,” Kay, ahead of me.

To balance things out, I’ll also give you a negative about me. In Nebraska, where I lived much of my life, the University of Nebraska, in Lincoln, Nebraska, always had the senior high school students take a Regency (Sp) Scholarship test. Those at the top level received a scholarship to the University of Nebraska. I received a scholarship to the University. Now, get ready for the negative. I sometimes joke about it. But, everyone has to take a placement test as they enter the University of Nebraska. This was no big deal to me. What was surprising to me was the fact that I failed the English part of that test. This meant I had to sign up for “Dumb Bell English.” I took my English class, as well as a German class. I think I learned my English Grammar in my German class.

As water runs under a bridge, so also must my life.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)

CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY

I couldn’t find a button that said this. “Better late than never.”

That was just something I thought, and since I usually write about what I think about, I had to write it in that spot.

Going on!

I remember writing in high school and college English classes. Their suggestions were not interesting, but a student still had to pick a topic. I would finally pick one I thought I could write about and give it all I could.

For many years, for some reason, I saved my written work. First, I wrote with a pencil on lined notebook paper, but that was upgraded to a ballpoint pen. Professors insisted.

Memories linger, but pencil scribbles on notebook paper grow dim. Some years ago, I began putting my writing (one person doing it, but many single pieces.) into a computer. My writing program on my computer did not include instructions on “How to set up a filing system to easily find the piece you wrote 15 years ago.” The memory lingers, and I know it is there somewhere.

I finished most of my college years in a Bible and a Teacher’s College. I don’t teach anymore, but the Bible is always with me. It is always new, and some of it always stays with me.

When I get everything I write published, a person can read poems of my thoughts, poems about family, and kids’ stories just for fun. My serious, thoughtful, needed, and helpful work is Bible-related. These will be for the serious, thoughtful person wondering what someone else might think about Jesus, His life, and what that has to do with anyone living now 2,000 years after He lived, died, and rose to life again.

Those who read what I write are important to me. (I have stopped counting our great-grandkids, but I would want them to smile and be better off for reading what I write.)

I hope something I write will be important to you and even make you smile.

I hope you would be better off reading a piece or two.

I want some to be comforted and encouraged by my writing.

I would like other writers to be spurred on so the thoughts found in my Bible articles will be passed on to another circle of Jesus believers.

Forgive me if this sounds prideful, but I would like some of my material available in written form.

I want to speak to “slow readers” and say, “Take the time to read something that catches your attention. What does God seem to draw you to? Please read it.”

I thought I knew what piece would be the first to be published, but that has changed because something else has already been written for that spot.

How often will I publish something? That question is asked for me to answer, but——- what can I say when I don’t know? If I publish two on the same day, does that make up for some time I missed one?

I don’t know what to think about having my material free, but having you pay for hidden material? You might consider paying me what you thought it was worth, but I don’t know if that is even allowed. If someone sees this and knows the answer, they can tell me.

Publishing it all free might be God’s way for what I write. So, for now, it is all free to all.

Just read it. Please?

Oh, I have a great idea. If you liked what I wrote (from memory), share it with others in your email list. If some of them like it also, they might want to subscribe for themselves.

Please and Thank You