Godless Mom in the Bible Belt

My parents had a very difficult time with my education. The public schools in our area of Salt Lake City were dismal at best with class sizes out of control and teachers stretched to the limit.

Although Daddy was a mechanic and Mom was a secretary they managed to pull together enough money to send me to private schools. I was a middle-of-the-road student and I did my best to fade into the woodwork in whatever environment they placed me.

In fifth grade, at the age of ten, I was sent to Anchor Christian Academy. It was a funky place, each child was given an "office" (a small desk with walls which separated one child from the next...Kind of like the study desks in libraries.) If we needed the attention of a teacher we would place a colored block on the shelf above our desk. The teachers would then go around the room looking for blocks and answering questions. The work was largely self-directed. The curriculum consisted of "Pace" books which the student would study independently, moving ahead at their own speed. At the time I loved science and social studies and hated math, so by the end of the school year I was several grades ahead in my favorite subjects and a grade behind in the one I didn't like. Academically it didn't work out well for me.

However, there was one seriously cool perk in attending a funky Baptist school. These guys were REALLY big on memorizing Bible verse. At the beginning of each week we would be assigned a chapter of the Bible to memorize. I assume the chapters were chosen for their spiritually uplifting and morally educational qualities. However, this meant nothing to me. I was interested in the extra recess time I would earn by dutifully reciting the verse. Five minutes for the first third of the chapter, ten minutes for the first two thirds of the chapter and 15 whole minutes of extra recess time for memorizing the entire thing! While most kids took the entire week to memorize the first few lines, I would approach the challenge with complete determination and would recite the entire thing within 24 hours.

As a result I have large portions of the Bible committed to memory. I couldn't tell you exactly what chapters I have memorized, that information has left my brain under the crush of relevant information. However, occasionally I will hear a verse or read a bit of the book and the words will flood my brain with the familiarity of a well worn pair of jeans.

The exercise obviously didn't have the intended effect, I'm sure my instructors at Anchor Baptist would be sorely disappointed in the way I've turned out. However, one really cool thing did come of all that extra recess time. I got really good at shooting a basketball backwards over my head from the free throw line! A kid has to do something when they are the only one who earned extra recess time!