Sister Alice Therese, or AT, must have lost the toss that summer before senior year because just about every goof off was in her homeroom.  She would fold her arms under her blue scapular, sigh, list who was staying after school, and she had a gang every night.  Kathy Reynolds and I would stay to do bulletin boards because we were very cute and sucked up.  We also smoked the first cigarette in the new building.

Bill Tamagne and Marvin Hewson were in that homeroom with me and ever since our days at Mother of our Savior (the chapel school on Greenfield), Bill could make me laugh.  I hated to do it in front of AT because I liked her and she inspired me to become an English instructor. I wish I had told her that.

One day in Religion class every one was bored as usual and AT was going on about Holy Week.  Hard to make that stimulating to teenagers.  I saw Bill picking threads out of his cuffs, hunched over and going at it with great intensity. He had no liking for AT since she called him Bill Tamain on the first day of class and we all laughed like idiots.  He had quite a pile of thread and began putting them neatly on the back of, well, to be charitable and save him from further embarrassment, I will call him Joe.  Joe had on a dark sports coat and Bill was spelling out something.  AT decided she needed someone to read the passion of Christ and Joe got picked.  He stood with his Bible and began to read and actually got into it.  On his back was spelled out in white thread: I'M COOL.  The snickering started up and I could see Bill shaking and snorting into his hands.  The laughter spread like oil and soon the whole class, seated behind Joe, was wheezing and choking.  Joe, oblivious to this, raised his hand and yelled, Give us Barabbas!!  That did it.  Laughed shot out like lava and AT folded those arms, ready to announce the after school roster.  She looked at me and even her prize suck up was laughing.  I felt like I let her down.  I never told her any of this but at graduation my dad gave her a check.  She asked why.  He said, I know my daughter's friends and you deserve this.

Bill, you dork, if you are out there, I still can see your face and I am still laughing at you with those threads. 

Pat '63