Spit Wads

That same year dad was suspended from school. This teacher, that I mentioned in the previous entry, thought that if she needed the class’ attention, all she had to do was stand at the front of the class with her arms crossed and that they would settle down. Well, obviously that didn’t work and soon they were causing all sorts of ruckuses. Just a day before Christmas break was to start, dad was taking jaw breaker boxes, chewing them up, and making spit wads, which he was spitting across the room. Another teacher, Mrs. Forneron was walking by and saw him do this. As she walked into class, he spit one and it actually hit her on the left breasticle (as he points out). She immediantely called him out to the hall and was talking to him about these spit wads. Well, as any young NJ boy would talk, he answered her questions with "Yea". "Yes, Ma’m" she would correct him in saying. Well, he didn’t catch on and after he answered with a few more "yea’s",. she decided that he just needed to go home. A half day left before christmas break and he was being suspended for spit wads. Well, she called his dad and told him that "Mark was being sent home early". Which meant, gramps had to walk through the snow 1 mile to pick up dad for being "disruptive". Dad said that walk home was a nightmare. There was no talking, only silence and he knew what was going to happen when he walked in that door. He said Gramps was so mad at him that after his painful punishment he told him he wasn’t getting Christmas that year. Dad panicked! He did everything he could to help his mom out after that, just hoping that she would intercede on his behalf. He helped her finish up the Christmas decorating, anything he could to get on her good side. Well, it must’ve worked, because Gramps recanted and dad got to have his Christmas presents after all. There was a Christmas though, where he wasn’t quite as lucky…. I’ll post about THAT next.