Early Memories Can Still Sting
Everyone has one, maybe several embarrassing moments that are impossible to forget, no matter what age you were when they happened. There’s usually one that you classify as your ‘most embarrassing moment.” It stands out above all others. Sometimes these events end in laughter and sometimes they end in tears.
When a person is being interviewed, for whatever reason, one question that is always on the list is “What’s your most embarrassing moment?” That memory is usually your “most unforgettable moment,” too. No matter how many years it has been since it happened, our mind just can’t eliminate that memory. These moments tell us and others a lot about who we are. Some situations that are “no big deal” would be very painful to others. Almost always “embarrassing moments” are humorous to the observers and definitely not funny to the person who is feeling embarrassed. Even though it is painful to do, I’ll still tell you mine.
This took place in one of the basement classrooms of Fulmore Junior High School in Austin. Therefore, I was probably 11 or 12 years old, since we moved to Houston when I started the eighth grade. Everybody on the planet knows it is against the rules to chew gum in class, so I can’t believe I had gum in my mouth that day in that classroom. The teacher, I learned, was as avid a rulefollower as my mother. I have no memory who the teacher was, but when she spotted the fact I did indeed have gum in my mouth, she loudly called out, “Norma! Come here to the front of the class!”
Believe it or not, I used to be very shy, and easily intimidated. When I got to the front of the classroom, I could tell, I had the individual attention of every single student in that room. As Ms. So-and-so pulled open her desk drawer, she said, “So, I see you like to chew gum. Is that right?” I shook my head “yes.” As she unwrapped a piece of gum, she said, “OK, then open your mouth.” as she shoved the stick of gum in. She then asked, “Do you enjoy chewing that?” I shook my head, “yes.” She proceeded to shove another piece in.
After the third or fourth piece, I was having a difficult time chewing and my fellow classmates began snickering. I was embarrassed enough trying to chew without choking, but my embarrassment became unbearable when the kids really started laughing at me. I could not hold back the tears. I was so devastated, I ran out of the classroom, probably to the restroom to hide before the bell rang.
I think the teacher later apologized by saying she was sorry. She’ll never know that even today, 66 years later, the memory brings tears to my eyes.
Bowman is a longtime La Grange resident and artist.