Something occurred to me as I closed “THE SAWDUST TRAIL, PART 2 story and I just have to tell this with another chapter! During my senior year during a 90-minute “Metal Shop” class break, Mike B. said to me, “Hey, let’s go outside and have a cigarette”!  My first impression was that he was only kidding until I realized he was serious! At that point, I thought to myself, “Oh, what the h---“. We went out through the open garage door in the southeast corner of the shop building and around the corner to the east wall (see pic). After carefully “looking over our shoulders” and scanning the area, we determined the coast was clear and Mike B. hauled out 2 cigarettes and we causoiusly, but defiantly lit up. We “coolly” (but rapidly) took a few drags, then not wanting to “press our luck,” we quickly ground out the half-smoked cigarettes with the soles of our shoes on the blacktop. We no sooner had ground them out when Mr. Gaich came around the corner! Someone had obviously either overheard our intention or somehow saw us, and “squealed.” However, Mike and I both figured we “pulled it off” since we had just “ground out” and disposed of the “Smoking Gun” (i.e. cigarette). Mr. Gaich either knew or had reasonable suspicion that we were smoking. He looked down by Mike B.’s foot and asked, “How did that cigarette butt get there?” Mike B. said, “I don’t know, maybe the janitor.” As I saw Mr. Gaich’s skeptical look, I though to myself, (“Maybe the janitor… Sheesh!!!”) After repeated questioning, we finally admitted we were smoking.  Mr. Gaich then said, “Alright, let’s go to the Mr. Garland’s (the H.S. principle) office!”  At that, an icy chill went up my spine, over my shoulders and settled in a knot right at the bottom of my stomach! I figured we’d both go to “The Reform School” for sure since in 1966 this kind of stuff just wasn’t done in school! I could hardly make my suddenly “rubber legs” move as we took that L-O-N-G walk to Mr. Garland’s office as we followed Mr. Gaich who seemed to be deliberately walking slowly! On the way there I had thoughts that this was “payback” for the brazen few times I’d cockily walk down the sidewalk “acting cool” with a cigarette in my hand before school started and taking a drag then flicking the cigarette out of my hand just before I stepped on school property! When we finally arrived at Mr. Garland’s office, he asked what we were there for. Mike B. said, “We were smoking.” I can still see the surprised stunned look on Mr. Garland’s face as he rhetorically responded with, “You were smoking?” In an unexpected statement of very faint support, Mr. Gaich added, “I did give them a break from class.” Immediately my best hopes thoughts were, “Since we were on a break, maybe Mr. Garland will just say Oh, OK then, since you were on a break I’ll let it go this time, but don’t ever so it again...” The mind sure does strange things in a crisis situation! He told us to wait outside in the hall. It seemed it too forever from him and Mr. Gaich to finally emerge from the office. I looked him in the eye with the best “Lost Scared, Hungry Puppy Look” I could muster. He said, “Alright boys, go up and clean everything out of your lockers and come back to my office.” I immediately thought “AAAAAGGHHH! We’re both being “kicked out of school forever”!!! When we arrived back at his office with our arms overflowing with books, papers, and various “junk” and odds and ends, he said we were going to be suspended from school for 3 days. WOW! Was I relieved! Just 3 days and not forever! This happened on the Thursday, so I figured my mother wouldn’t find out since I certainly wouldn’t tell her, and that I could act “sick” Friday, Monday, and Tuesday (although I hadn’t figured how I’d pull it off Saturday and Sunday). Besides, since our mother worked all day, only Aunt Lou would be home and she certainly wouldn’t be hard to fool, being a very kind (but naïve) soul. It was late morning when we slowly walked out of the school. Mike B. went home, but I hung around town after I sat my “locker stuff” down on the ground behind the bank. In fact, I hung around town the rest of the day until I saw my mother pull up in her 1951 black Chevy as I was hanging around the water pump in front of the Congregational Church. She very angrily said, “Get in the car”! In my most “innocent look” I nicely said “Sure.” I then “innocently” asked her if something was wrong. As soon as I did, she showed me the REGISTERED letter the school had sent! OOPS, I knew then I was “A Dead Duck”!  I never figured on that! Boy! Was she ever MAD! She muttered something about not having a father and that I will be the death of her and many other things peppered with many sundry expletives! The next day, Friday, I faked I was sick (since I’m still to this day convinced she never told Aunt Lou), after a day of being waited on and sympathetic comments; I figured I wouldn’t pull the sick act Monday and Tuesday. Monday I acted like I was off to school but grabbed my rifle, I had stashed in the barn and went back to the woods and squirrel hunted all day. I forgot what I did on Tuesday, but probably got “sick” again and endured another day of sympathetic but wasted comments about it’s too bad I’m so sick AGAIN. Oh well, at least there were plenty of her Viceroy cigarettes around to “snitch” and smoke in the bathroom all day! Hmmmm, some people NEVER learn do they!