Both Hands, Please

In the fall of 1952, I entered the fifth grade in Wildwood, Tenn. Not only had I been promoted in school, but I had progressed from single-digit age 9 to double-digit age 10.

As with all schools, students gathered on the first day to brag or complain about the teacher they had been assigned. There were only two fifth-grade teachers. Mrs. Harper was young and had two young children. It was well known she was not only a good teacher but also somewhat tolerant of minor infractions.

Miss Arbuckle was the opposite side of the