In 1946 started Catholic school at Queen of All Saints parish in Brooklyn at age 6 in an old gothic cathedral with attached classrooms that was always dark and dank. The gargoyles surrounding the church were told to us as children who had misbehaved and were sent up to the bell tower to be turned to stone forever if we did not behave. I never believed it for a second -- well, maybe for my first year or so -- but what I did fear were those towering figures in black hooded garments who floated up and down the halls silently stalking small children. Knuckles were rapped with metal edged rulers suddenly from out of nowhere and boys and girls each were punished by being made to sit next to the other. I never understood that because I liked being put next to a girl -- except for one -- a Patricia Ambrose who was badly abused by the nuns because she had a severe body odor and was the one the nuns put the baddest boys next to. In later years I often wondered what happened to Patricia. I can't imagine what all those years of being the punishment did to her psyche, spirit and soul. I have no fond memories of any of those nuns -- not even after eight years of grade school with them.
On Aug 3, 4:23 am, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > I started boarding school at age 5-kindergarten- so in a sense, the > nuns "raised" me for 9 months. At 7, I went away to girls camp for 2 > months. I suspect this was all my father's idea as mother was still > playing the ex-wife/movie queen. The counterbalanace was "home"- a > dramatic shift, interrupted somewhat by my father's death at age 10. > Led into my room by 3 "witches" in black with starched bibs, I > screamed bloody murder but eventually settled down but they could be > sweet- Sister Eva once rescued me from a nightmare and tucked me into > her bed, took a cab with me to the dentist, Sister R would spirit me > out from naptime and we would share an apple on the sly. They forgave > me most transgressions probably because father was generous to them. > Anyway, the real gift they gave me was a schedule, order and disipline/ > rules which has been a bedrock. I was thinking the other day, I may > have started my own convent of raising children as my marriages were > false choices and husbands absent in spirit or flesh. I thought about > being a nun during a college retreat- the thought lasted only an > afternoon. I think it was an attempt to escape the boredom of a > woman's college and too many dates/suitors. Instead I chose marriage > to someone I hardly knew and was trapped by the ceremonies. Sort of > like going to prison with perks. > > On Aug 3, 12:16 am, gruff <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Heh heh ... anyone who has ever had to deal with nuns had a strange > > childhood. > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
