This if for those children misunderstood
You see I slept days
My father drank at night
Sometimes he slept days too
But I had to go to school
My first grade teacher thought I was slow
She would catch me sleeping off to the closet I would go
Now which one of us were dumb
I could sleep in a dark room and have fun
She was going to have me set back
She set up a special test for me
I couldn't fooler her she hit me with a ruler
So to embarass me she said in front of the class,
Since you are not paying attention
"Dandy who was the President who freed the slaves?"
I took a penny from my pocket and said, "This man!"
She thought I was being a wise guy
But she had a second question,
"Who is the Governer of this state?"
I knew this one so well. I said "Uncle Al"
What she did not know the Governor lived next to Grandma
One of my boyhood friends was his nephew.
As a boy I used to sit on his lap and have lunch
So the forms were filled out I would take first grade again
She wanted me to count to ten
I could add subtract do math
Leo Lassen the Seattle Rainier announcer taught me math
I stayed up nights listening to baseball games
I wasn't dumb I just slept during the day
I could do batting averages earned run averages
Mom was livid when she heard I was being held back
I was reading "Black Beauty" The morning paper
When the kids in her class were reading, "Mary had a little Lamb"
Mom asked the kids in class who was the most important person to their life
Several girls said, "Ms. Peabody" some said their mom or dad
She asked me and I said, "Jesus Christ!"
The Principal overruled Ms Peabody and I was passed on
Here is the irony. Second grade Ms. Peabody was second grade teacher
I had a whole nother year to have her in MY class!