Children, many with anxious parents by their side, stood on the sidewalk  Monday, awaiting the bus for schools’ opening.

I had a flashback to the first day of the second grade, when Mrs. Poiser (soon-to-be dubbed Poisoner) handed me a piece of paper as the day ended and told me to give it to my mother.

Going out the front door, I crumpled it and tossed it under a bush by the steps. My instincts told me the paper could not possibly contain good news.

So began a lasting adversarial relationship with teachers.

Turns out the Poisoner’s note had something to do with my, allegedly, talking too much in class. She wanted to talk to my parents about what she perceived as a problem.

As I recall, my folks saw it the same way once the tale was told. Turned out she was expecting a call. When it didn’t come, she called. Oh boy.

Many among my childhood chums went into education, and evidently they were quite good at it, considering some of the lofty positions they achieved and the laurels they earned.

If they had any like me and some of my cohorts, it’s a wonder they stayed with it.

I salute them all and their successors as yet another year begins.

Jim Butler, a Bolton High School alumnus, was an acclaimed writer and editor at the Alexandria Town Talk for 36 years, the last 23 (1977-2003) as editor-in-chief. He led Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina for the Gulfport (Miss.) Sun-Herald in 2005. Butler returned home to Cenla a few years ago, and shares his talents and insight with Rapides Parish Journal readers.