Fourth grade started off badly. My good friend, Bonnie Bertz, had withdrawn from school because her mother wanted to home-school her. This was a crisis for me. Bonnie and I had rode the same bus for a long time and she was my good friend. Luckily, I had another friend, Anne Bladen Courts. She replaced the void that was left when Bonnie moved on.
Fourth grade was a weird time for me. I was seeing boys in a whole new light. They didn't seem completely disgusting any longer. Some of them were actually quite nice. My favorites were Joey Fuscaldo, Nathan Bertz, and Chris Dineen. Nathan was older, but Chris and Joey were the most popular boys in our grade. Anne Bladen and I would sit for hours talking about them. It was a strange transistion.
My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Estes, was expecting a child during my fourth grade year. My favorite memory is when Anne Bladen and I threw a surprise party for Mrs. Estes. Everyone brought baby gifts and we had a cake and pizza. Mrs. Estes cried happily. Anne Bladen and I always liked to make people smile.
One of our favorite people was Mr.Bumbrey. He was the school janitor. He was an avid Dallas Cowboys fan, like Anne Bladen, and he was really cool. Each day at lunch, Anne Bladen and I would stay after to help Mr. Bumbrey mop and take out the trash. In return, he would give us Potomac Challenge cards, which got put into a drawing for a free pizza party. Our class frequently won ice cream parties because of Anne Bladen and my contributions to the class totals. It was a very fun time.
In fourth grade, I joined the school choir. Mrs. Gilbert was the teacher. Each day, toward the end, the choir would leave their normal classes and go to the choir-room and sing. I had my first solo in this choir. It was during the Christmas assembly, and it was before I knew enough to be scared of audiences. I belted out that song with all my heart and sung well.
Fifth grade came quickly. I continued to be involved with the choir, but that was probably the only good part of fifth grade. I had many bad things happen to me during that year. At the beginning of the year, my mother made me get a haircut at JCPenny's and the women butchered my hair. It wasn't even at all, and it was short. There was no way to fix it. My baby-sitter, Diane, tried to take me to a place in Dahlgren to fix my hair. They made it slightly more presentable, but it was almost worse. They made my hair all the same length, but it resembled a mushroom. The first day of 5th grade, I was given the name Mushroom Head by Randall Scott and Kelsey Albert. They were the bullies. I hated them. I went home each day sobbing and tried to refuse to go to school. My hair eventually grew out but the name stuck. People say kids have bad memories, but they have really good ones when it comes to hurting people.
My second trauma of the year involved Katie O'Brian. She had come to my house to play. My father had built a tight rope for me to walk across in the back yard. It was about a foot from the ground. Above the rope was another rope to hold onto as you walked across. Katie and I thought it would be fun to swing back and forth as you help the top rope for support. This was probably not the best of ideas, but it kept us entertained, well...at least until the top rope snapped. Katie and I flew to the ground. I jumped up right away. I had boy cousins, and I knew how to take a fall. Katie lied on the ground laughing hysterically. I didn't know what to do. i asked her if she was okay. Right about that time, my mother ran out the door frantically. She told me to call 911. I was very scared because I though that Katie's mother would never let her come to my house again. I dialed the number but didn't know how to tell them where I lived or anything. My mother must have realized this and came inside to help. The ambulance came and took Katie away. She only had a sprained neck, but when she emerged from the emergency room, she had a neck brace. I was very afraid for her. Her mother let her return to my house, but we never played on the rope again.
My third tragedy was the first loss I'd experienced. My pappy died. He had always been my special person. He loved me more than any of the other grandchildren, and he called me "blue eyes." We would always watch The Price is Right together. I was spending the night with Bonnie when I recieved the call. My dad told me that my grandfather had died. I cried for a little while but I dont think I really understood. I still dont think I understand the forever part of death. Bonnie tried to cheer me up and so did her mother. I went home, and didn't know was to say to my mother. Her father had died. I just hugged my dad.
My best friend moved in fifth grade. She moved back to Middleburg just before we were to start middle school. I was very upset when Anne Bladen told me she had to move. I was lonely for a while, but then I realized I had something to look forward to. I was going to be a big kid.
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