Mt. Vernon Stories
COMMENTS
I Remember
The world used to move slower.
A good day was just spending time with friends,
playing baseball in the backyard,
Or going somewhere with family,
visiting relatives far away,
hearing their stories,
their memories.
You start school. You go to college, and you go to work.
You go on trips, join a team, make new friends, and you share life.
You meet people from other walks of life.
You share experience. You share hopes and dreams. You share life!
But some things don’t make sense.
Why do things have to be so hard?
I don’t want to remember this!
Why can’t it be like when I was a kid?
I’m older now, and things are moving faster. It’s not as easy now.
But, those memories have shaped MY experiences, MY life, MY memories…
It ISN’T like when I was a kid…
It’s better.
Yes, I remember …
Lynnette Hinkle 1 As Things Change, So They Remain the Same My first day of school at 846 North Sixth Street was much anticipated throughout the summer preceding the school year, not much different than today. I had ended the previous school year with friends with whom I had shared 180 days, each year, for the past seven years. Mascoutah was a smaller town then, than it is today, but the elementary school, just down the road, I attended still consisted of town kids, like me, kids who lived on farms, like my good friend Susie, and a few of the kids, like my friend Tim, lived on the base. However all of my school years had all been spent at the Sixth Street Elementary School just down the road, with basically all the same students each year. A few of the students from military families would leave, but many, like my friend Nancy, would come back when a reassignment to Scott occurred. Now, ready or not here it comes… a brand new school building, Mascoutah Junior High complete with many new students. Half of them I would not even know because they had attended the elementary school on the base. “ You will make so many new friends, ” my parents told me. New friends? My current friends were great, I felt comfortable with them. I knew Darlene would get a high grade on almost every test, I knew Kay was nervous when she had to give a speech in class, I knew Gail would be first chair clarinet, and with a doubt I knew Jane and Harriett would get into another argument, but would once again make up within a day! I did not need any new friends.
This is my story about …………….