Pierre's Educational Influences


Dear Eagle Watcher,

Thanks for putting "Gooseing" on your Internet site. That is the first time Pierre has written something on his own. You have quoted him a few times, Eagle Watcher, but "Gooseing" is like hearing Pierre Unplugged. Forgive the pun. I was trying to stink with the musical theme, but it might have backfired on me. Perhaps the title of Pierre's piece should be spelt "Goosing", but who knows what he hadin mind.

Pierre used to be a "high" school student where I teach. Thank God he was never in my class, but he used to walk by my classroom door often. He had a certain air around him.
Greet him for me. Stay upwind.
                                            Mrs. W.

Dear Mrs. W,

You might not remember me, but I did time in the
school where you teach. I was not in the classes for
the brainy kids like you taught, but I did troll by
your room to check out the pretty sophomore girls.
Mad Jack was my high school teacher most of the
time. My junior year I signed up for his Wilderness
Studies class by mistake. On the registration form it
read Wild. Stud. . I figured it was about time the
school had a class where I could really excel. So
rather than drop out, I signed up. Perhaps the class
title was just a come on, but I did learn to canoe in
that class. Canoeing got me a job as a guide for a
while at Laketrails. The rest is history.

Mad Jack has been staying with Eagle Watcher
since he left teaching. He is not an easy person to
have for a neighbor, but it is better than having him
for a teacher. He was way too strict. He had rules
for everything. He even had us take off our shoes at
the door so we would not get his room dirty. Fussy,
fussy.

I don't think Mad Jack knew I was living near
Eagle Watcher when he came here, but we are getting
along much better now. I have been teaching him a few
new tricks of the woods, and he has been showing me
how to type on this computer. I think he feels a
little guilty about flunking me so often. He has been
helping me with my writing. For every hour I write an
assignment, he lets me surf the web using the
bookmarks that Jim Dingle put on this computer. They
should have had deals like that when I was in school.
I could have been a PhD.!

The first assignment he gave me was to write
to a former teacher who influenced me. I think he
plagiarized that assignment from you. (How do you
like my use of the big word "plagiarized"? That is
the only word you need to know to get through school.)
I could not think of a single one of my former
teachers who is still functioning as a teacher. Some
are not functioning at anything. Eagle Watcher
suggested that I write to you. Hopefully you have not
been cut from the staff yet.

You influenced me, Mrs. W., because I enjoyed
looking at that busty gal that you had sitting in the
front row during 7th hour, spring quarter, my third
senior year. You make up a great seating chart. That
chart kept me in school until I was 21. The school
graduated me because I had outlived my usefulness as
a student. The administration could no longer collect
state aid because I was too old. My conduct had also
helped to retire most of the older, more expensive
teachers. The entire community thanks you, Mrs. W.
Time's up. Twenty lines equals two hours.
It's Dingle bookmark time.

                                              Pierre

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