More free advice!

There was an article in the SUNpaper about a high school teacher named Katie Peters, an English teacher at Whitmer High School in Toledo, Ohio. I did not read the entire article because it dealt with the parents' bill of rights, an issue which continues to gain steam (or hot air) because, you see, it turns out that parents know better about what ought to be taught in school, more so than educators who have spent their adult lives in classrooms, in front of classrooms, and in conference rooms determining the courses that will best produce a course of success for young Ferdinand and Isabella. 

Or so some say. I can't decide. I'm too busy trying to figure out people who said they didn't need masks or vaccines because they take plenty of vitamins.

I don't know when it started being the normal thing in this country for everyone to consider themselves an expert on every topic under the sun, but it's amazing how that works. Even my doctor says he is frequently contradicted by patients whose vast experience and knowledge of their duodenum surpasses his because of something they heard on the Dr Phil Oz Show.

Anyway, I'll climb down from the pulpit to tell you what caught my eye in the picture of the teacher, Ms Peters. She had on her bulletin board a poster, hand-lettered, reading "Life Instructions." And they are as follows:

Memorize your favorite poem

Never laugh at anyone's dreams

Marry someone you love talking to

Smile when you answer the phone

Silence can be the best reply

 

I think the students in Ms Peters's class are lucky, and I have a feeling she is one of those teachers whose classes learn more than they realize at first. Just that first one - memorize a favorite poem - is great advice. Even if the poem is a song lyric, it's still a way to be in touch with the soul. I can still remember my father reciting Frost's "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening," and I have long enjoyed calling out "Abraham Lincoln Walks At Midnight" (Vachel Lindsay) and "Celery Stalks At Midnight" (Will Bradley). 

I learned a long time ago that people will surprise you, not only with what they dream of accomplishing, but with what they actually accomplish. Why, I knew a fellow who worked down at General Motors, and every night he would wheel out a wheelbarrow full of auto parts, his goal being to build a car out of them. Well, after two years of this, and a lot of hard work, what did he have, but 378 wheelbarrows! Now, who's laughing?!

My dear sweet Peggy has been on the receiving end of my diatribes, screeds, sermons, and lengthy denunciations of the oppressors for almost 49 years, and we have had many a fun chat. Yes, I love her and I love talking with her. I always learn a lot!

One of the cardinal rules from my days on the radio was, "The listeners can hear you smile." Now, answering the phone is quite different. You folks in your 30s and below might be surprised to find there was a day when the phone rang, and you didn't know who in the hell it was on the other end! Now you do. Or at least you have an idea who in the hell it is from the Caller ID, and you can answer accordingly, or not. And if they are calling from Hell, you can give them some more of it!

Or not! Silence can be the best reply, after all.  Anyone will tell you, when people ask a deeply personal question about one's age, weight, income, or mental stability, it used to be de rigueur to play it off by saying, "Gee, that's a little personal, don't you think?" or "I'm shocked that you would ask such a question" or "Who wants to know?" I've learned the value of saying nothing. If you can, raise one eyebrow and walk away.

Thank you, Ms Peters!