Flashback Friday # 191

Mr. Bird

Hello. It's good to see you again. Back for another helping of minutia? Good. I've got plenty more.

Since I started on some teachers last week, I figured I'd stay in that vein. There were a few teachers in my Sophomore year that hold some vivid memories. I must admit, with this being the "dark time" in my life, I wasn't the greatest of students. In fact, I wasn't very good at all. I really feel sorry for some of the things I did then.

But I digress. This post isn't about me, or some of the rotten things I did. It's about a new math teacher that we had named "Mr. Bird". Many of us thought Mr. Bird was an odd bird indeed.

To begin with, he wasn't the most manliest looking man. In fact, he was a bit effeminate. Some thought that he had more in his closet than clothing. He had a wry way of looking at you and grinning that really creeped you out. When he would roll is chalk in his hand in front of him, at waist level, eyebrows would go up. Someone mentioned that he was a minister, so he could be as we suspected. Others disagreed.

The one time that is burned in my memory banks the most is during a time of silent reading. We had to read silently for 10 minutes during the period that I had his class. I had found a western by Brian Garfield, that had caught my attention (this was before I had read any Lois L'Amour). It was about a sheriff who's daughter is kidnapped by a gang of men who escaped from prison. He sent them there, so they are going to exact their revenge on his family.

I had gotten about a quarter of the way through it the previous night. I figured it would be a good book to take for the reading time.

As we were reading, Mr. Bird strolled through the rows, looking at the various genres being read. When he saw the title of the book I was reading, he stopped, smiled really big and said "That sound like a really good book" The book was titled "The Last Hard Men". Needless to say, I finished that book at home.