When we moved to the farm, Sis and I obviously had to adjust to a new grammar school and to new kids. Now we had to go to a Catholic grammar school, grades 4 to 8.

This was a completely different atmosphere than the public grammar school we went to before we moved to the farm. Kids will be kids and, at times, get into trouble. The teachers were nuns and they were always "patrolling the lane ways" between the rows of seats. If someone misbehaved, the kid was taken into the hall and slapped in the face, sometimes punched.

One of the tactics of a nun who taught 4th grade was to take a kid to the door that leads to the hallway, make the kid put his fingers between the door and the door jamb, and close the door on his fingers. Ever see four black and blue finger nails on one hand?

One time when I was in the 7th grade, we were all outdoors and a couple of kids got in a fist fight. What usually happens on these "occasions" is all the kids form a ring around the two combatants and cheer one or the other kid on. But this time it was in front of the rectory where the priest lived. Out came Father K running down the steps; he grabbed a kid and started punching him in the face, blood flying all over. The problem was he picked a kid who wasn't even in the fight.