Show sW SWEEPINGS S SI r By IRIS I must have spent a lot of time looking out of windows when I went to school It does seem there are things I should have learned somewhere along the line that almost completely completely completely com com- eluded me TAKE DATES FOR INSTANCE Only three Jump Into my mind when the subject of history comes up up 1776 1776 1812 and 1819 Im I'm a little vague about 1776 although I know Its It's the spirit of something 1812 Is from the war of the same name and 1819 Is the year Sir T. T Stan ord Raffles founded Singapore Founded not found Singapore wasn't LOST actually Why that particular event should stick In my mind Is beyond me but there It Is Every once in awhile caught in an unfortunate situation where I get asked a question on concerning the parts of speech I have only one recourse I make some excuse to leave the room roam or better yet the premises b by saying I just remembered remembered remembered my house is on fire because the sad truth is I dont don't know from about the parts of speech Oh I can identify good round nouns such as Undershirt Raspberry Ra Raspberry Rasp Rasp- p- p berry or Brooklyn and I know verbs when they kindly indicate action such as sleep or scratch But the minute minute minute min min- ute I got my high school diploma I forgot all I ever knew about such things as predicates and propositions or or prepositions I guess that is IT WASN'T MY TEACHERS' TEACHERS fault if I didn't retain what the they y taught I learned to diagram sentences all aU over the blackboard but I met a German girl in an office in later years who out-diagrammed out me with ease This girl wrote a letter which contained the beautiful sentence Expiration date be notified of this office I told her the sentence was wrong and she promptly and efficiently diagrammed it to prove she was right I guess she was too because the expiration dates were duly notified of the office Ill I'll admit to hurt feelings when my second grader wont won't let me help her with math because I do it wrong but Im I'm certainly not surprised The very first time I saw arithmetic arithmetic arithmetic arith arith- in my earliest school days I knew we weren't going to get along I was right As the years went on total antipathy between me and numbers came to pass passI I remember remember b ber er a copy of Comptons Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia we had in bour our home hime which contained an illustrated story on arith arith- The gist of it turned out to be figures never lie but my figures sure did I coult do an arithmetic problem 32 times and get 32 different answers and as far as I was concerned that proved figures weren't very dependable j TO BE SURE IVE I'VE HAD MY enthusiasms in the field of knowledge I have learned a great deal about geography all aU of it since I left school but I find its it's so hard to work some of that information into a general conversation Like I cant can't remember how long its it's been since the subject of came up but I not only know where it is I know who owns it Its It's a peninsula between the Gulf and the Bering Sea and Russia claims it although I dont don't know what good it is And I do know its it's awfully hard to work knowledge like that into an afternoons afternoon's chatter I mean nobody seems to CARE about anymore Next time around Im I'm going to take up the study of weather That's something everybody has such a lot of |