Story Time -- Things are not always what they seem By Neil R

In the November story time item I mentioned that during the years I was in elementary school at Myton, as second and sometimes the only source of income, the folks took in borders. At first it was construction workers and then later school teachers. Over time these arrangements led up to some interesting and choice experiences. It seems, at times, we had three or four teachers staying at our house and two or three others that stayed at Zirker’s and had their meals at our house. Over time we became quite attached to most of these people. As a matter of fact they became like family. It seems that the time I’m thinking of there were three teachers staying at our house, two women and one man. It seems, when there was free time, the borders, including mother and dad, would sit around the dining table and play games. One game that was popular was Chinese checkers. Anyway to get on with the story there was this one night, after mother and dad and the rest of the family had gone to bed that the teachers, I think Helen, Thelma, Hazel and Purcell, were still at the table playing games, talking or just being young adults. Fast forward to the next morning when mother and dad got up there in the middle of the table was the water pitcher with a note in the top with the word written on it “contaminated”. Well mother took this personally. She thought they, and Helen in particular, was saying that mother was not adequately cleaning her dishes etc. This thought that mother did not keep a clean house built up in mother’s mind until she was, well very angry and she was seriously planning on asking Helen to move out. Mother must have mentioned her feelings to one of the other teachers because she, and I think it was Hazel, told mother “Oh Anna, Purcell drank out of that pitcher and that is why Helen put the note in the pitcher with the word Contaminated”. Ooops