Taiwan - Taiping Suspension Bridge, Iron Railing / Thelma Reid at East Main

Being a member of East Main in Nacogdoches was a treat because I got to interact with the members of the community apart from the college environment at SFA.  As stated in the post a few days ago, it was small, but steeped in the East Texas culture, as some of the families had been in the area for generations.  There were times of grief and times of joy as well at East Main, and memories of my associations with those good folks always brings a smile.

One occasion that I'll never forget was during a visit with Thelma Reid.  I'd stopped just to say hello one day when she began telling me stories of her childhood.  At the time she was well into her 80's, but remembered childhood events as if they'd occurred the day before.

It was during this visit that Sister Reid (as I called her) related something that happened to her when she was in the 10th grade in school.  This was 1979, so she would have been in the 10th grade about 1915 or so.  The class was gathered for a picture, and in those days taking a picture was no casual event.  Everyone wore their best to school on the day, and had to sit still for some time under the glare of lights and that huge flash they held up on a pan.  But first all eyes had to point to the lens.

Sister Reid was in the front row, and she looked down momentarily.  When the photographer scolded her, their teacher told him that she was so poor that she was looking for a dime on the floor.

All those years later Sister Reid still got teary-eyed when she told that story, and her voice became so soft as to be almost inaudible.  She was obviously still hurt by the teacher's crude remark.  I was in training as a teacher at that time, and took it to heart that even a seemingly off-hand remark - even told in jest - can put a permanent stain on the hearts of our charges in the classroom...