Memoir #1 by "Mrs."

I wanted to write to you about my grand-aunt, Dottie. She was a "Territory Baby," born in New Mexico before it became a state. She had three sisters, one of whom was my maternal grandmother, Mabel. Dottie remained single until she turned 41, and she then had one son. As a young woman, she studied to become a school teacher and her teaching career lasted 35 years. She was given a one-room school house for a while, which meant she had a variety of ages present in her classroom. She had to establish her authority pretty quickly so her students wouldn't get the better of her. She told me the following story a few years before her death in 2005.
One day, Aunt Dottie was riding her mule to school as she always did. She spied one of her students walking to school and offered him a ride. The mule was friendly enough, but he sure hated to have his flanks touched. The little boy knew this about mules and horses and decided to have a little fun; he kicked that mule directly in the flank and held on, waiting to see what would happen.Well, the mule began to kick and buck like nobody's business. Aunt Dottie wasn't intimidated though and she stayed right with him, fighting his head and bringing him under control. Finally, they reached the school yard. Aunt Dottie knew she had established her position in the school when the little boy slid off the back of the mule, headed over to his friends and said with admiration, "Teacher can ride!"

GJ's note---Isn't this a great little coincidence? I almost always go to e-mail first in the morning, but today I went to blogging about blessings, first. After posting, I then went to the mail...and here it was, another "teacher" tale! I told you people...potential memoir writers just need a reminder. So far, we have 'Aunts,' and 'teachers,' neck and neck. "We're Off!"