May Day Memories

As a kid, I moved around a lot, so most of my memories are fractured pieces of this and that that often don’t fit together correctly.  But, on this day every year, I have a flood of memories that come back to me from a tiny town called Bourbon, Missouri, where I attended 3rd and 4th grade.

Our music teacher, Mr. Tetley, coordinated a May Day celebration every year that included the Maypole Dance, performed by the 4th graders. I remember practicing, and practicing, and practicing the complicated steps and patterns in the cafeteria for weeks before the big event, which happened in the high school gym. It was big, and new, and scarily packed with people.

I think I started to come out of my extremely passive and meek shell in 4th grade.  I was proud that I was the lead “skipper” for my crew of maypole winders, and even more proud of the beautiful blue dress that my mom made me to match the blue streamer that was my charge. I loved the process and the order of winding the Maypole. My fellow students and I skipped clockwise and ran counterclockwise, decorating in one pattern, then another, and then undoing it all for the big finale – a basket weave where the girls, in our coordinated dresses and streamers of pink, blue, and yellow,  had to weave to the left and right of the boys with their white streamers. It’s as close as I’ll ever get to being a good dancer.

Happy May Day everyone!

On a side note, Mr. Tetley also taught us 4th graders how to play a flute-a-phone (the plastic version of a recorder). I practiced and practiced on that thing, and when it came time for each of us to play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” in front of the rest of the class, I could feel my face getting redder and redder as I puffed away.  But, when I was finished, Mr Tetley said, “THAT is how you play Twinkle Twinkle.”  I was so proud, despite my red face. The flute-a-phone was the only musical instrument I was ever good at playing.  I wonder if Mr. Tetley knows that he got my best years of fine art talents.

Related posts:

No related posts.