Oh, You’ve Got To Have Friends

/ Ally Bean

I found this photo when I was going through some boxes of stuff that I’ve dragged around with me for years.  I’ve been in an organizing mood of late.  Most of the stuff in the boxes was of no value, but this photo– well, it’s a classic.  Worthy of note.

It’s a photograph of my third grade class.  I’m the girl in the middle of the front row holding my hands behind my back.  With long blonde hair.  Sporting a lovely pair of cat eye spectacles.  Tres chic!

Looking at this photo I have no idea why I’m not wearing a cute little plaid dress like the other girls.  I had lots of them, but for some reason I’m standing there in a shapeless jumper.  My mother worked when I was a kid, so maybe this was the only outfit that was clean that day for me to wear.  That could be it.  Or maybe I forgot that it was photo day and put the jumper on instead of something cute.  That’s probably more like it.

I have good memories of third grade.  Mrs. Bosh, our teacher, was enthusiastic and fun. The kids in my class were silly and goofy and friendly.  I remember adoring arithmetic & science, and that we did the coolest art projects.  I remember despising spelling tests, while thoroughly enjoying music class.

I also remember receiving my first Nancy Drew book that year.  It was a birthday present from the girl on the end of the front row nearest to the teacher.  I still have the book in fact.

But what I remember the most about third grade is that we played lots of games on the playground– and we included everyone.  No cliques.  No clubs.  No snobs.  That’s what was coming our way in fourth grade.

Of course, we didn’t know that yet when this photo was taken.  We were still just a bunch of happy kids.  Friends.  Wearing our best clothes and smiling for the camera.

9 thoughts on “Oh, You’ve Got To Have Friends”

  1. I love this picture of you! And the dress is perfect. That looks like Mike I. standing beside you. Third grade was fun for me, too. Like you said, we were ALL friends and played many games on the playground together. We had a giant sliding board that was very popular, especially in the winter time when we could “skate” off the end of it. And the thing we called the stride that we hung on and swung all around with feet flying behind us. Ah, the good ‘ole days!

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  2. Beth, now that you say it I remember something called the stride. I don’t know if it was at this elementary school, or at the other ones that I went to. What I remember about this playground was that it was huge and totally uneven– some concrete, some blacktop, some pebbles, some grass, some dirt. We played different games on different surfaces according to some unwritten, but totally accepted, kid laws.

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  3. I had cat woman glasses and long blond hair too. I always had to stand in front because I was one of the shortest in the class!! I loved Nancy Drew. Now the girl politics start up in 1st grade. (sometimes even earlier) Yucky stuff.

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  4. Margaret, I’m sorry to hear about how much earlier the queen bee stuff starts. That’s a shame. In retrospect, fourth grade seems too early for that crap– let alone first grade.

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  7. Ah, that was a great year! My favorite book from the class bookshelf was “Ben Franklin, Printer’s Boy” — read it several times (can’t explain why and won’t try). Remember dressing the colorform Barbie and Ken paper dolls to coordinate with the weather? And, yes, I loved the stride. I also took great pleasure that a certain boy (who will remain nameless) never caught me and planted a kiss. For some reason, he liked to chase the girls and kiss them.

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  8. Yes it was, Sherry. I don’t remember that book at all, but I do remember the weather paper dolls. And for the record, that nameless boy caught me by the big old oak tree and planted a kiss on me. It was the ultimate “yuck” moment of the year!

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