I was talking to a lady - well ladies do talk to me once in a while.  And all I know, is ladies - even those that live in Texas.  Those, I guess you could call my ex girl  friends. They fall in the Witch class. One lived at San Antonio.  The other lives near Dallas, I think she should live in Dallas. She is there most any day. There is one Dolly that lives near Houston.  She loves collies, you know. Now she is a Dolly. Just ask her Collies.  I guess one out of three is about par for the course.

Now all that hot air aside, this lady said something that sparked a brain cell. I recalled a person out of the past, Mrs. Worden.  She was my 6th grade school teacher.  I remember Red Skelton talking about a teacher he had. Red called him a sage.  Mrs. Worden I think may fall in the sage class.  You do know what a sage is?   That is a smart person, one you can learn things from.  Like my friend Keith, he is a sage.  No sage brush about it, or sage bush.

She made an impression on me.  I always liked to read anyway, but she really made me want to read even more.  Every day, she had a book to read a few pages from. That is she read it to the class.  She would only read about 4 or 5 pages a day. So a chapter might take 3 to 5 days. She had, I think, 3 books, all written by the same man. She read every one of those books to the class, year after year. The author was Albert P Terhune., and he wrote about his champion collie dogs.

Now looking back, I think she did this for a number of reasons.  The books were good books, not trash. They were based on truth. At the end of the time for reading, you wondered ???I want to know what, and how did Laddie handle this mess.??? You had to be tuned in tomorrow, same time, same station. Thosebooks were a teacher??™s tools.  They were well written.  You picked up a taste for a few things. I learned a love for dogs. Not that I needed that. One thing I think was that you learned there were good people, and yes a few bad apples in the human race.

Mrs.Worden drove a old Chevy.  It was in good shape.  It just  had some age. 
During the war years, a lot of people had cars that were getting a bit gray.  I think she got a later one after the war - about a ???46 model.  It was one that brother-in-law Ed the barber found. Now Ed was a friend of the Logan boys. That would be Paul the, ???I sell you a Studebaker???, or George, ???I put you in class, a Caddy or Olds.???

So I know Ed had something to do with her getting a bit newer car. Aftersome thought on things said,  It comes to me these all were related in some fashion. Maybe, and again maybe not been.  I know they all talked about one another..  It was nice talk, not bad.  Except when Paul and George didn't click to well.  I later learned that was an act.  Both worked together, helping the other in any time of need.  I know if you were looking for a car on George's lot, George might not have one to suit you,. It wouldn't be long till you found one on Paul's lot.  Now how did this come about?  Have you heard of a thing called a telephone?  Also in a round-about way you might get an idea the other had a car for sale like you would be looking for. So I think I would be right in saying this - car came from one of the two places.

We opened the station up and here she is (Mrs. Worden). Same as always, still the same laugh. One day she pulled in, had her sister with her.  Nothing real new, both stuck together like glue.  Ed was still chopping hair, and telling stories. All of this bunch was walking talking history books. They liked telling of the good old days.  The best stories would be about one another. Like the day the shot gun went off in Paul's like new Chev.  George still got the bird. Chev had a nice hole in the top. I got that story from all four. Zoe, Ed, Paul, and after a bit from George. The words just changed a bit to suit who ever was telling it.

This day they had been on a ride about town, both yapping a mile a minute. One of the yeps was we been up by your house.  "Those old fashion roses on the fence are something. Why, that is the most beautiful thing we seen."  They had to know the whats and wherefores.  I think Dad said, well that was his wife??™s deal, just started them and they took off.  He said the kids next door were complaining about the thorns. Zoe said well maybe if they keep the hands to themselves, it would beno problem.  Again the laugh.  I can't remember the words as spoken, but it was along those lines.  A bit of wisdom came forth.  I told you she fits  the sage class.  She said something about,  how often is nice things, and pretty things,  those come with thorns of some kind.  That part of living, and learning.

One could always spot her car.  No matter what make or color. Simple, the plate read 3-4000. I wonder who has that number now?  Well it would be 3-A 4000.

There is a 3-B 4000 also. 

Zoe Ann Worden the sage,  I remember,  the old South School of Beatrice.  She is Gone.  The school building is too.  Oh there is a new one now,  it has a fancy name. I wonder why it wasn't named Worden.   Maybe  she wasn't important enough, but  to me she was very important. I never knew who Dr. Stoddard was. To tell the truth I could care less.  I knew a real sage. Zoe Ann Worden.

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