When I was in third grade, I had a teacher named Mr. Garner.
During English class, he made us memorize this rhyme:

"A wise old owl
sat in an oak.
The more he saw,
the less he spoke.
The less he spoke
the more he heard.
Oh why can't we be
like that wise old bird?

I guess Mr. Garner wanted us to be quiet.
Mr. Garner got his wish as this week, I lost my voice.
I'm sorry it couldn't have happened when I was in the 3rd grade as I am
sure that I did my fair share of talking. I liked English class.
For some reason, English was most memorable in Mr. Garner's class.
When it was time for English, we took our textbooks out of our desk...yes, we called them
textbooks...and Mr. Garner made us recite another poem, found inside the cover of the
ancient book. We said it every day and I still remember most of it.

My English textbook is my friend
from its beginning to its end
It's here to teach me day by day
Good things I'll need along life's way.
This book with kindness I will treat
and try to keep it clean and neat.
It's pages carefully I'll turn
and each day's lesson try to learn

Ahhh....try as I might, I can't remember the rest.

When I was in elementary school, books were not replaced until they were falling
apart...and I always felt so fortunate when the teacher would give me the book to keep. 

As I write this article, I am under the influence of cough syrup with codeine.
Could you tell?
I don't want to go to bed until I'm ready to fall asleep. I hate lying in bed and coughing.
Note: Some people say "laying in bed" but this is not correct English usage.
Only chickens can lay!
Mr. Garner always said: Things lay, people lie.

The only other medication I am taking is over the counter stuff.
I use Dayquil and Halls cough drops. I carry a 30 pack of these with me at all times and I
go through a pack a day. I also insist on Carmex, Puff's Plus Kleenex with antibacterial
lotion in it, and hand sanitizer. My purse has turned into a mini pharmacy, with all of these
items inside. I have to say that everyone has been extremely kind to me, not making me
feel like the walking germ that I am. People have even given me hugs, telling me that they
hope I feel better...wow! This is indeed a surprise when I feel like a leper who should yell
"unclean!" and keep my ongoing, never-ending supply of bacteria to myself. My
wonderful coworkers asked what they could do for me...
I suggested a mercy killing as that is how rotten I feel.
I can't stay home because I only have 3 hours of sick leave left.
This is one of the worst colds I have ever had in my life and in the middle of feeling
lousy, I have to do college homework...English of course.

However, all of the English lessons and courses have finally enabled me to do something
truly useful. This week, I launched a new website for Tehama County PATH,
an organization that helps aid the homeless in our community.
The web address is


I plan to make it very interesting, with stories and interviews from the volunteers.
Some of them are former clients who have made very good use of the helping hand
that PATH has extended. There is a feature which enables readers to give to the
organization online. It is very easy and safe to use...it takes less than 10 minutes
to set up an account through Justgive.org and then give your gift.
I did it, and I encourage all of you to part with a few dollars to help other people.
Please send a link to your friends and encourage them to do the same.
If you have a local website, please consider linking to PATH's site!
I will be letting you know when I update this site with something new.

**************************

Joe just read my sentiments of Mr. Garner's 3rd grade.  He said that this reminded
him of Miss Basham, his first grade teacher at Gerber School.
From what he says, she was a knockout and all the boys were in love with her.
The most memorable part of that year was the music.
Everyday, they sang, "Sing, Sing a Song" by the Carpenters.
If we can believe Joe, Mike L. would sing the loudest in an attempt to
impress the lovely Miss Basham.

Joe said that they would hold their hands up in the peace sign while they sang.
I can almost picture them now...

Ahh!  What fond memories!