THE OLD SCHOOL

Modern times brings so much to offer, to make life easy. The computers have just about everything programmed, at the touch of a click. A very exciting era to live and be raised. A time of convenience, no paper, pencil and electronic magic.

The Old School could this be something that was taught long, long ago, or was it the building where everyone gathered each day to learn? Could it have been the energy that enlightened the life that surrounded everyone daily?

Was it your mother or dad, sitting at the table explaining a project; maybe a neighbor telling some tales from an earlier time before you were even born. Or even so, big brother, sister, or guardian teaching and guiding.

Possibly using paper and pencil to write, using your head to calculate? Perhaps it was when a person spoke eye to eye, or taking a streetcar to the next destination. A curling iron was first placed in the open flame, to get hot, to curl the hair. The telephone, party line, was shared in the neighborhood. Was it when horses led the way, pulling a wagon, so comfort could be had for the person in need of travel, rather than riding horseback.

The Old School are the values, qualities of life that were taught and learned as time went on, without all this jazz ma tazz of clicking the keyboard to live.

The Old School shared principals with the highest regard and never forgotten, of something that was known about basic needs and beliefs. The Old School was a way of life of an earlier time or an old fashioned upbringing that is surely still practiced by many today in the modern times. The Old School shed the light on many as it contributed the advantages and benefits with the most common ways of doing things. Something money can't buy and is treasured, held in the heart, not in the hand. The Old School is priceless!

The Old School effected everyone, whether rich, poor or poverty stricken. Today a poor person, being raised way back then, can look back and be proud to say he/she was raised in The Old School. Learning with just about nothing.

Little Mizzy Bluee was no different, being raised in a poverty stricken, catholic family. She lived on the two top floors of a small apartment building, with her mother and father. Her brother was grown and gone off somewhere while her father always carried a bottle of liquor and she really never seen him much; when Mizzy did see him he didn't walk straight, had problems getting up all the flights of steps to their apartment and had a terrific odor. He picked up odd jobs here and there just to get some money for food. The apartment building held some of the poor and needy people of the city block.

Another Sunday morning, waking up was no different than any other cold morning, for Mizzy. Listening to the plastic, that was rattling, from the cold air blowing against the window, that once held panes of glass. Swinging her short small legs over the edge of the bed, feeling the aches and soreness, sleeping on the spring filled mattress. She would think how awful those springs were poking out of the ragged covered mattress, while she tried to sleep, if only there was a way to fix that, she would think, since her parents did not have money to buy a new mattress. Being chilled in a room with no heat to be warm, she quickly ran down the steps to stand in front of the kitchen oven, to get warm, that her mother would turn on first thing in the morning to try to heat the two top floors of the apartment building, where they lived. Not having a telephone in their apartment, she had to be sure about the time, mass was scheduled, on this particular Sunday, so after getting warm a bit, had to go down one more flight of stairs to a neighbor, to get the scheduled time.

Mizzy hoped there would not be any snow outside that morning, as she had holes in the bottom her shoes, and didn't have any boots to wear, to walk to Sunday mass with her mother. She saw her mother crying numerous times and being raised a devout catholic, she would tell Mizzy she was praying to find a way to get some money to buy her a new pair of shoes. Her mother put a piece of cardboard in each of the shoes to cover the holes, in the soles, on the bottom of Mizzy's shoes before they left. When Mizzy and her mother walked down the steps to leave for Sunday mass, Mizzy looked out one of the windows and was so thankful to see, there wasn't any snow outside. The catholic church was just a few blocks away, so they walked in the cold weather, Mizzy wearing only a dark green sweater, to keep warm. Her mother had only a shaw over her shoulders, gripping on to it, while the cold air swirled all around them, blowing their hair in all directions, as neither one owned a winter hat. Mizzy could not feel the depth of the freezing air, wrapping the dark green sweater as tight as could be, while her arms held it shut, around her.

The joy that overcame both of them when entering the church, capturing the protection of the Lord. Mass was not as crowded as expected, the music director was playing the organ; Mizzy noticed some of her classmates sitting a few pews behind her. Mass continued, with the priest leading the prayers being said; the people began heading up for Communion, Mizzy and her mother followed to the altar. Each person took their turn to kneel at the altar railing, to receive communion, as the priest would lay a blessed host on their tongue.

Just that quick Mizzy heard a low giggle behind her. Mizzy turned to see, there stood two of her classmates, giggling, poking fun of the fact there were holes on the bottom of her shoes, they were pointing at, while Mizzy knelt at the alter. Mizzy held back the tears of shame and embarrassment in front of these two classmates, they were raised in wealthy family, born with a silver spoon. They continued to giggle at the green sweater, as they whispered if she was cold, wearing only that sweater again, saying she wore that sweater everyday to school and never had a heavy winter coat.

Returning home after mass, Mizzy told her mother what happened at communion with these two classmates. Her mother said have faith. The lord will find a way to help get new shoes and a new coat, these two classmates held to much ignorance and criticism to ever learn the real meaning of values and sensitivity.

The day went on. Mizzy began to pray, help me find a way, I need new shoes, and I am really cold wearing only a sweater for a coat. Knowing the next day at school she would get more snickers and be made fun of with the rest of her classmates, wearing the holey shoes and sweater in the cold weather.

Her mother reminded Mizzy of the homework she had to get done. Back in the day there were no calculators, her arithmetic came easy to her, as she figured all numbers and fractions out, usually always got A's for arithmetic. She had to hand write an essay for English, no problem she thought, I will just write a story about how cruel her classmates are to poor people, let them know there are lessons to be taught about something like this. They, in time, might be laughed at for something.

The next day she walked to school wearing the shoes with holes, and the dark green sweater for a coat. Mizzy could not wait to hand in her homework. She wrote an essay about the classmates cruelty to poor people. Entering the school hallway she spotted the two classmates, that were poking fun of her at mass the day before, they were bothered and one was crying. She asked what happened. The one classmate said she was running, tripped on the curb, fell flat down, tore a huge hole on the black stockings she was wearing, right across both her knees, and she has to wear these holed, black stockings all day at school. The other classmate said she was running right behind, tripped somehow, and the heel of her shoe came loose. Mizzy thought, thank you Lord for helping me and directing the attention off my holey shoes and green sweater.

Mizzy returned home after school to tell her mother what happened earlier in the morning before class began and as well she got an A on her hand written essay. Before going up the steps in their apartment, her mother greeted her, at the doorway, with a surprise. Her dad got a job for the day and was paid, while Mizzy was at school, he gave her mother enough money to buy Mizzy a new coat and a new pair of shoes. How exciting this was for Mizzy, her dad did not have that terrific odor and he gave her mother the money instead of buying the alcohol.

Mizzy grew and learned, as the years went, with only the basics in life. Maybe not much, but a sense of distinctive character, common principles and the realization of high self esteem, that put her many steps above the others. The results had a purpose and she felt like the greatest, that money could never buy. The spring filled mattress, that was ragged covered was not fixed for quite sometime, Mizzy eventually got a part time job at the corner grocery store where she helped support her poor mother, managed to save her money to buy some cotton fill at the local fabric store, then figured out a way to remove the springs to make a new mattress. She stood her ground that nourished her to be proud to say she came from The Old School.