Slowly but surely, I am working through them all. Here's her third inquiry:
3. What gives you the most pride in being a graduate of James H. Harrison Elementary in Laurel, MD? I know ... it will be difficult to pick just one.
My response:
Ah, Laurel, MD. My sweet hometown. Well, my hometown, anyway.
Some Laurel trivia:
-Laurel, MD is a strange, sprawling town that spans three counties. West Laurel (larger yards, some newer developments, higher income bracket) was (and still is, I believe) very different from my own South Laurel (townhouses, large apartment complexes, and some neighborhoods of modest houses).
-During my childhood, the population of Laurel (according to the sign that welcomed drivers to the town limits) was 16,000. This number seems way too low to be descriptive of the current population, however.
-My section of Laurel was in Prince George's County (PGC!), neighbor to Washington, DC, and birthplace of go-go music. Yeah, that's right!
So...James H. Harrison Elementary School is a small to medium-sized educational institution. We lived close enough to school to be able to walk, but far enough away for that walk to be some decent exercise.
But...hm, points of pride? Hard to say, Sarah. I do have some memories of Harrison that stand out more than others. I remember trudging to the school on snow days to sled down the awesome hills behind the school. I remember there was still a forest of trees behind those hills, and not a clear view of the Marlo Furniture superstore like there is now (thanks to "new development," i.e., destroying all the trees of my childhood to make way for giant parking lots and box buildings).
I remember Mr. Kowzun, the gym teacher, throwing me up in the air on my birthday...but instead of catching me, like he did all the other birthday boys and girls, he dropped me, leading me to land hard on my knee. I didn't have to participate in gym that day. And Mr. Kowzun made sure that I knew it was my own fault for being dropped (apparently I was "not holding my arms in such a way that would make it easy for me to be caught")...yeah, we had only the finest teachers at Harrison.
I remember Gary Love teaching me how to do the Running Man and the Cabbage Patch at our 6th grade classroom holiday party...hm, that was pretty awesome, I guess. OK, I pick that as my most proud Harrison moment: tapping into my inner groove - I haven't let go of my dancer self since.
2 comments:
PGC pride baby.
I remember Mr. Kowzan. That guy was such a yahoo. When I read what you wrote I had this memory of refusing to let him throw me up in the air. Sounds like that was probably a smart move, lol.
I remember the walk to Harrison the most. It seemed like such an adventure. Freedom for the brief interim between school and home. When I moved to the Montpelier district I had to take the bus.
Birthplace of go-go music? For real? Sweet.
Hey, Sarah B!
Yeah, the walk was pretty awesome - I have lots of memories that took place during those walks to and from...mostly on the walks home, since they were more leisurely. I remember the year we had cicadas really well...Their discarded shells were everywhere!
And, yes, it's true...your home county is the birthplace of go-go music. Take pride!
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