School Bored

I loved reading. I loved great stories. I didn't have a favorite author. Some authors I liked better than others. Some of the ones I really liked had a couple of books that weren't so great.  Books, in my humble opinion,  were always better than the movie or the TV adaptation. I enjoyed reading by myself. It was my escape from everything that was going on. Writing is an art and I appreciated it. Oral story telling never really got me too excited, but like everything else there are exceptions. One of these was a thing called "Released Time". In case you're wondering, I've never been incarcerated. The absolute closest thing was school detention or begin grounded. That's it. I've always paid every ticket I've received. Tickets have made me a more contentious driver, but that's all in the past.

I had trouble in school. I was one of those kids who finished before most of the class. Unlike those other kids, the ones who sat quietly and well mannered,  I needed something else to do. I couldn't sit still. In 4th grade, a friend, Damon, after he got his work done, he got to leave the room for about 30 minutes. This happened the same day and same time every week. To a 4th grader, 30 minutes a small eternity. I asked the teacher where Damon was going. He said it was "Released Time". I asked what it was. I was thinking that Damon and a few other lucky kids had full run of the playground. I didn't know what it was, but it might give me something to do. The teacher suggested that I ask Damon about it. I asked and Damon said he'd take me the next week. When the appointed day came, I was finished in record time. I was the first one done. I was so exited. When Damon got done, we ran out the door. I looked around and there wasn't anyone else on the playground. He said "Come on" and we ran towards the parking lot. Parked just outside of the front office was this trailer that said "Released Time" on the side. On the inside, it was set up like a classroom. Desks, chairs, windows, chalkboard, everything. There was an older man who brought the trailer and knew everybody at the school. I think his wife was a secretary or something. He came once a week and told us stories out of the Bible. This guy was amazing. He told the stories as if he was right there in the action as it was happening. He talked about the people in the Bible as if they were his neighbors. Went to Released Time for a few more times. Stopped going when we moved. Here we go again. New town, new school.

Just for the record, most of the detentions I received during my school career were for being disruptive in class. Things like talking out of turn, making jokes at the wrong times, you know things like that. I once "re-enacted" a Head & Shoulders commercial. Head & Shoulders is this shampoo for dandruff and if you use this product, your life will be perfect. The basic idea was this guy was checking out this girl. He says to himself, "I guess she wants me to ask her out". His head gets itchy and he starts to scratch and tiny little flakes fall on to his shoulder. Well, I was bored. I guess I was really bored. I took a sheet of notebook paper out of my Trapper Keeper and tore it tiny pieces. I'm talking about 1/4 of an inch pieces. I then proceeded to put the pile on top of my head. When I had everyone's attention, I said "I guess she wants me to ask her out". I scratched my head just like the guy in the commercial and the paper started raining down. Everybody roared with laughter. Everyone except the teacher. She got really mad and set me to the principal's office. I walked out the door and all the way to the principal's office, leaving my paper "dandruff" trail behind me.