Monday Memories...Chemistry and the Pledge

My dad was a Colonel in the Air Force and it seemed that we moved at the worst times in my life....including my senior year of high school. Being the new kid in high school, especially during your senior year puts you on the bottom of the food chain. You don't know the teachers, kids, your way around the school, or even the rules of conduct in your new environment.

I took Chemistry my senior year because I needed it for college. There were two Chemistry teachers and I found out too late that I had the hardest, meanest, but the best teacher. The kids affectionately called her "Bloody Mary" as she always gave a quiz every morning with two questions. Two questions.... you either got 100, 50, or zero on a daily basis. (I personally thought it was a major victory to make a 50 which is still failing!)

Bloody Mary not only was the Chemistry teacher but also the Honor Court Judge and believe me you wouldn't want to have to face her! One of the rules at this new school was that you had to write, "I have neither given nor received aid on this test" on every test or quiz and sign your name. I thought it was really silly to have to do that because in my mind.....if you were going to cheat on the test you most certainly would lie about it!!

Bloody Mary ruled with an iron hand. I suppose that she would have to since she was dealing with chemicals, fire, and stupidity. She called us "yoyos" most of the time and occasionally she would say, "Ok you rutabaga, just sit there and vegetate!" The woman scared me to death and greatly intimidated me. I struggled with Chemistry and only passed because I had a great lab partner that would juggle the equations and our findings to make it work outright.

Our lab final was two hours long. It counted for 75 % of our final grade. I needed to get a good grade on this test. We were given 10 unknown chemicals and had to find out what they were by preforming various test that we had learned that year.

Before the test started, Bloody Mary, stood up before the class and said, " You must write 'the pledge' on your test papers or I will not even grade it!" Immediately most of the class obediently wrote "I have neither given nor received aid on this test" and signed their names.

I thought to myself....why sign it now...they haven't even taken the test yet.

So the test began. It was hard. Some of the chemicals were easy and were quickly identified. Others didn't seem to want to be identified no matter what test I did on them. The time quickly flew by.....I knew 8 of the elements but two still escaped me. I worked feverishly on one and final found what it was. One more to go....test after test failed, what was this element? My heart was racing as I heard the bell ring and the class began to exit the room.

"Come on People!" Bloody Mary yelled. "If you haven't figured it out by now, it's too late! Hand in your tests." Just as she said this, the last test came out positive. I hurriedly wrote down the element and handed in my test.

I floated out the door doing a happy dance. Yes! I would pass chemistry! I would graduate and go on to college. I would be a nurse, a healer, Florence Nightingale move over .....here comes Daisy.

Halfway down the stairs to my next class I was overwhelmed by the reality that I had not written " the pledge" on my test paper. A spirit of doom overwhelmed me, I immediately turned around and started taking the steps two at a time to get back to the chem lab. Tears were falling freely as I ran back into the classroom and into the surprised gaze of the teacher that I feared the most.

"You don't have to grade my test" I said sobbing. "I forgot to sign the pledge!".

"You What??" she said, staring at me. "You Rutabaga, Did I not stand up in front of the class and tell everyone that I wouldn't even grade a test that didn't have the pledge written and signed?" she asked with all the fury of a class 5 hurricane.

Still sobbing uncontrollably I shook my head in agreement that she had.

" Is English your second language? "she asked with scorn. " I don't speak stupidity."

"No m'am " I said tears streaming. "I just forgot....I finally figured out the last element as the bell rang", I barely managed to say between sobs. " I just forgot", I said in a whisper.

It seemed like a long time pasted as I stood there crying, envisioning having to tell my parents I wouldn't graduate with my class and going to summer school with Bloody Mary.

"Alright, "she said. " Quit crying, I will grade your test but I am taking 10 points off....now get out of here", she said handing me a late pass and a Kleenex.

At that point, I would have kissed her feet!!! I've never been more relieved. Turns out that I made a 90 on the test....I had correctly identified all of the elements. On top of the paper was the grade and written in big red letters were these words...." And you know why!"

Years later as a register nurse, I walked into a patient's room and recognized my high school chemistry teacher . Her first words that greeted me were, "MY God, What have I released on the world??"

I learned a lot from "Bloody Mary". I passed college chemistry easily because of the foundation she had drummed into me. I learned about firmness and rules, and that "mercy"can still be found behind the roughest exteriors.