Yes Sir Madame Teacher

Ms. Becker was
my music teacher
at Union Terrace Elementary
in third grade aged 8.

The boys use to argue 
"If you had to marry the 
music, art or gym teacher,
which one?"   I always chose
Ms. Gatos the art teacher,  
others Ms. Carol, the gym teach.

I had just seen a military movie
over the weekend and the soldiers
kept saying "Yes Sir!" or "No Sir!"

In music class I am in the back row
fooling around and not paying 
attention and we are singing

John Jacob Jingle Heimer Schmidt,
or Swing Low
or Jimmy Crack Corn

Ms. Becker calls my name.
I say "Yes Sir!"
I say this as a way of being respectful,
but she gets up from her synthesizer seat
and briskly walks to the back row
and picks me up the the back curlies
of my reddish hair.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
Yes Sir?
I AM TO BE CALLED MAM!

This was the day I was to 
learn the difference between
sir and mam -
a painful lesson indeed.