My Friend Betty Lou

Ft. Riley teachers had an in-service day before the first day of school. I met Betty Lou that day. I thought she looked like she might be a phys ed teacher but I was wrong. She made the first move to get acquainted.

We were in separate wings of the building because she taught kindergarten and I taught 4th grade. In fact, my room number was 13. The principal asked if I wanted the number changed and I told them it was fine the way it was.

I taught all the classes except music. I always felt I could teach music easier than teaching art - that was difficult for me.

Betty Lou and I sometimes played piano in her room at lunch time. We quite often ate lunch together. Sometimes several of us would drive over to the PX to have lunch. We also socialized outside of school. We went to movies and concerts at K-State. We saw Louis Armstrong in concert there and really enjoyed it.

Sometimes several teachers and their spouses went boating on a nearby lake and had picnics. Betty was single but was always included in the group.

Betty Lou and I kept in touch over the years. We wrote oftener at the beginning and then it turned into birthday and Christmas cards for many years. We saw each other three or four times over the years.

Betty Lou invited us to visit her in Las Vegas which we did in December 2000. It seemed almost like going back to teach after summer vacation because we picked up where we left off. She visited Don and me about a year later and we visited her once more a year or so later.

She is one of the few people who calls me "Betty" and I never fuss about it. I think I still call her Betty Lou.