“We’re all the heroes of our own stories.” – George R.R. Martin

I’ve mentioned before (January 25) that I’m doing this StoryWorth thing – writing anecdotes about my life to include in a family-tree book I’ve been working on for years.

I like the service, because you get a prompt once a week on a different topic. If the prompt doesn’t inspire you, you can write something else.

Here’s a recent piece I sent in. (It has a moral. I’m sure you can figure it out for yourself.)

A Lesson I Learned in High School 

One of the most important lessons I learned in high school was taught to me by Mr. Ringwald, my Spanish 101 teacher.

The first day of class, calling the roll, he came to my name and asked me to stand up.

“I’ve heard about you,” he said.

I made some wiseass crack. The class laughed. (My reward.)

“I guess what I heard was true.”

I shrugged. He went on with the roll call. I sat down.

He stopped speaking and scowled at me.

“Did I ask you to sit down?”

“Duh. No.”

“Well then stand up, please.”

I did. The class laughed. I smirked, pretending I was still in charge.

He noticed the smirk.

“And while you are at it, put your hands on your head. I want to be sure that I know where they are at all times.”

The class laughed. I reluctantly complied.

He finished the roll call. Then he asked the class to open their textbooks.

I sat down and opened my book.

“Did I ask you to sit down, Mr. Ford?”

“Duh. No.”

“Well then, resume your position.”

More laughter. Reluctant compliance.

I stood there like that, feeling like an idiot with my hands on my head, until the end of the class.

At the bell, as I was leaving, Mr. Ringwald stopped me to say, “By the way, Mr. Ford… you can rest assured that I will let you know, sometime in the future, when you can sit down again like a civilized young student.”

He meant it.

For the next three or four weeks, I spent every class standing in that humiliating position.

And then one day, sensing my breaking was completed, he allowed me to sit. I never made another crack in his class. And I even learned a little Spanish.