Girls Are Squirrels, But Boys Make Noise
Back when the streets were filled with potholes, the laundromat was boarded up, and the neighbors' homes were just feet away from ours, I went to school at a place called North Hill Elementary. It was your typical unremarkable school in the midst of an unremarkable place. There wasn't much there worth noting, other than maybe a fantastic teacher named Mrs. Brown, the woods behind the school that were filled with ghost stories, and an odd octagon-shaped addition that housed several classrooms.
It's the school where I learned to read, the school I attended when I first realized I was ... different, and the school where I spent recesses playing Star Wars with the boys, despite the fact that I had never seen any of the movies. I won contests for fundraising, got in trouble for stealing a classmate's winter hat during a game of tag, and avoided eye contact with a boy named Clinton.
But, really, it was unremarkable.
Except for one man.
There was a man, a janitor, who wasn't your ordinary janitor. He wasn't invisible, nor was he the subject of mockery. Instead, he was the janitor that everyone liked because he was a genuinely nice guy.
I don't remember his name. I don't remember what he looked like. And, yet, I remember him. He's the man who stood by the trash cans in the cafeteria. He guided new students in the proper process for cleaning their trays, always making sure to be kind as he reminded everyone to not throw away the silverware. He made it a point to greet each and every kid, always with a smile on his face.
He's the man who constantly rattled off the phrase, "Girls are squirrels, but boys make noise." To this day I have no idea what he meant by that, but I think he was saying that girls are the smarter gender. Go with me on that one, ok?
He was just a nice guy who had an odd saying, but yet 30 years later, he sticks with me.
I often wonder who will stick with Alexis. Who are the characters that will become permanent fixtures in her memory? And will they be good memories?
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Reader Comments (5)
I had a janitor just like that in elementary school. He lived across from the community park. He still remembers almost all of the old students at the school, and still talks to them when he sees them at the community events in the park.
The janitor at the school I went to from 1-8th grades was the nicest man ever. Mr. Sullivan. He was soft-spoken, always smiling, and he always had jolly ranchers. :)
Mr. Coffee was our janitor and he was always so helpful. I can still remember going to his office in the boiler room for help with the zipper on my coat. Always so kind. It is too bad my children haven't had that kind of a janitor in their schools. Thankfully they have had other kind people who have left wonderful impressions.
I loved the janitors I had in school! Both of them were genuinely liked by just about everyone because they were just genuinely sweet people. Ralph was elementary, Benji was the older grades.
Janitors are definitely one of the unsung heroes of our educational system. So glad you have positive memories of yours as well :)
His name was Don Johnson, and I remember him exactly the same way!