As I was stepping over a stretched out electrical cord attached to the fan, I was reminded of Chinese jump rope in elementary school. The fan cord is about 2 inches off the ground, just like the Chinese jump rope would be. And, as I’m shuffling across the floor with my slippers, my foot actually slides underneath it in, allowing the cord to press against my ankle. That’s when the memory kicks in.

Miss Jensen. She didn’t like kids, which created a problem, as she was a first grade teacher. At recess this particular day, I did something that warranted punishment in the form of standing against the brick wall and watching all my friends play. I didn’t agree, and would not stand against the brick wall. Miss Jensen grabbed me by my upper arms, and I pulled away. Her nails ran down both of my arms, leaving 10 long deep scratches from just above my elbows down to my wrists. At home that night, my father asked what happened. I told him. He got so angry. I remember wondering what I had done wrong. The next day he went to the school and talked with the principle.

When I look back on this, I think of 2 things. First, how much school environments have changed for what is allowable. And, second, that my father was so mad that someone else would mistreat his kid and the immense irony in that.