AUTUMN... preparing for changes (Part 142g)

AUTUMN... preparing for changes (Part 142g)

Elle had fed the kids and had eaten herself but sat down and listened to my telling of Moira’s woes while I ate. She’d met Moira at the Chamber of Commerce picnic during the Summer so there was a bit of familiarity to her already in place. I was almost through eating when the phone rang so Elle answered it. I expected her to come right back but she didn’t. After finishing up I went to see where she’d gone and found her still at the telephone table and deeply involved in conversation. It was at least fifteen minutes later when she reappeared in the kitchen and looked a bit troubled.

The call had been from the teacher, Margie, she was going in to replace the next day. I asked what was wrong and she didn’t answer at first. She then told me Margie, whom she knew fairly well, had called to give her a warning about what she’d find in the way of ”problems“, meaning kids, in her class. When she told me that I thought it was nice of her to do that. However, it was a bit shocking to hear what she’d been told.
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A bit of historical background here... In the 60’s the terms ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and autism were still in their infancy. The kids who were later diagnosed with ADHD were just considered to be ”disruptive“ and those with autism were ”strange“.
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Out of a class of 20+ first graders she had four who fell into either the ”disruptive“ or ”strange“ category. It wasn’t that Elle hadn’t had those type of kids before but not that many in one class. Elle seldom told me much about the classes she taught. Being a substitute teacher she was called in to teach any grade from 1st through 6th and in any of three different schools. I remember her taking a deep breath and then wondering out loud why the school had concentrated them like that. I, being a ‘smart-ass’, told her it was because there were so many new families moving into town from the city. She just made a face at me. The bright, cheerful demeanor she’d shown when I arrived home was now replaced by a bit of a frown and almost complete quietness. I was sorry I’d opened my mouth.

The next morning Elle’s mother was there to pick Kaye up before 8am. Elle took the older girls to school with her which left me alone to delve into the cedar closet to retrieve the new SanSoucie panties that would be going to Joanie. The only thing that bothered me was that since Joanie worked upstairs in the mortgage area of the bank I wouldn’t have much of a chance to ever get a peek of them or to see a VPL. But that wasn’t all that bad as every time I’d see her I’d know just what she was wearing. 

With my concentration on the panties I’d buried Moira’s car problem in the deep recesses of my mind until I was almost to work. I’d just gone past the turn for James’ service station when it came to me so I did a U turn and headed there. He didn’t have a tow truck but did have a pick up truck that he said he could rope tow it to the station if I’d steer the car. That old saying ”between a rock and a hard place“ came to mind as I said I’d do it. I needed to be at the bank but felt obligated to help Moira. I jumped into his truck and we headed for the car. Driving past the bank I wondered how I’d managed to get myself involved in yet another distraction. The car was just as we’d left it but with one difference. The there was ticket under the windshield wiper for illegal parking. With heavy traffic because it was the morning ‘rush hour’ it took while to get started. I had to be very careful not to run into the back of James truck because the tow rope was so short. In a way it reminded me of racing the stock car where we all raced close together and with no brake lights. At the station I had to wait for James to find a place put the car so I just sat there and contemplated where the car had been during it’s almost 20 years of existence. It, like Moira’s house, was in need of a lot of care. The glove box in the dashboard was open and when I went to close it found it wouldn’t stay latched. Not satisfied to leave it that way I slid across the seat so I was right in front of it. I was looking into the compartment to see what was wrong and I moved some junk from the latch bar. As I did I felt something soft. I lifted some papers and saw a small wad of cloth. Now really curious, I reached in for it.

In my hand I found a pair of white panties with some flowers embroidered onto the front panel. I immediately checked to see if James or one of his workers was around. Not seeing anyone I opened them up to look at the label. The first thing I saw was the size... 6, and turning it over read the name of the manufacturer... Pam. I recognized it having seen displays of Pam panties in one of the department stores in one of my trips to the city. But the most interesting thing was the staining in the crotch. It was no where near as much as Elle’s panties but there was a concentration right in the very middle of the crotch. I really thought about just stuffing them into my jacket pocket but my conscience got the best of me and I returned them to where I’d found them. James and his helper soon appeared and, after moving another car, we pushed the car into that spot. He told me he’d take a look at it before noon and would call me.

By the time I got to work it was almost 10am. I made a call upstairs to Moira to tell her the status and she said she’d been surprised not to see the car at the traffic circle on her way in to work on the bus. I told her I’d help her out with James after he diagnosed the problem. There was dead silence on the line. The first word I heard was ”Really?“... and then ”You’d do that for me?“ For some reason hearing that embarrassed me.

It was a little after the noon siren had gone off that I got the call from James. I’d been hoping that it was something simple but it wasn’t. I’d diagnosed it on my own as having to do with the ignition and I’d been partially right. The shaft on the distributor had broken and the parts had been chewed up by the fact that the crankshaft had continued to turn until the car actually came to a stop. James said he could get a used distributor without a problem but, all the pieces were down in the crankcase and some had probably been picked up by the oil pump. The prognosis was pretty bleak for an old car. I told him I’d get back to him.

To be continued...