It all began when I was in Kindergarten and I tried to spell my name. I was sittin' at my desk, and we had just learnt the letter 'N' and suddenly, just out of the blue, I knew how to spell my name! M-I-N-E! Minnie! Miss Mustovitcht, that was my teacher, she was very pleased with me - I could tell by the way her eyes got all bright and she quivered the way she did when one of us kids said something very clever. That's what she called it, 'very clever'.
Well. I went home just a'bubblin' over with excitement, I couldn't wait to show everyone what I could do! Most 'specially Jojo, who is always pokin' fun at me and sayin' I'll never learn to spell. Well! I was going to show him! I walked...no, I swaggered into the living room where ma was ironing and Jojo was watching the TV. (I learnt about swaggering because that's what my dad said John Wayne would do if he weren't always in a body cast. I feel kinda sorry for him, cuz I like his voice.)
I held up that piece of paper, right over my head like a banner at a parade - you know, the kind at the front of the band? - and said, "Well. I know how to spell my name now, Jojo. How d'ya like them beans????" So he climbed off the sofa (ma calls it a couch, but I like to call it a sofa, because that sounds ever so much more elegant) and grabbed it out of my hands. He looked at the paper, then he looked at me. He looked back down at the paper and his cheeks started getting red. His voice sounded kinda tight and funny when he asked, "This it? This is your name?" "Yep! That's my name and now you can't tell me I'll never learn how to spell no more!"
Jojo made a kind of strangly sound and pret'near exploded with haw-hawin'; lucky for me my ma came over to see what was so funny about me learnin' my name and all. Like I say, it was lucky because she kinda made the situation not-so-bad somehow and explained to me that the word I wrote was 'MINE', not Minnie, but that was okay, because it was real close.
Well, right then I stuck my tongue out at Jojo an' said, "Well, my name is mine! It shore ain't yours! So watcha gonna do about that?" and walked all high-and-mighty out of the room. I went upstairs. I prob'ly woulda felt worse, except I got the last word in, and I thought it was a pretty good one, because it left Jojo speechless, and my ma got that look on her face just like Miss Mustovitcht does when she thinks we've said something clever.
Well. I went home just a'bubblin' over with excitement, I couldn't wait to show everyone what I could do! Most 'specially Jojo, who is always pokin' fun at me and sayin' I'll never learn to spell. Well! I was going to show him! I walked...no, I swaggered into the living room where ma was ironing and Jojo was watching the TV. (I learnt about swaggering because that's what my dad said John Wayne would do if he weren't always in a body cast. I feel kinda sorry for him, cuz I like his voice.)
I held up that piece of paper, right over my head like a banner at a parade - you know, the kind at the front of the band? - and said, "Well. I know how to spell my name now, Jojo. How d'ya like them beans????" So he climbed off the sofa (ma calls it a couch, but I like to call it a sofa, because that sounds ever so much more elegant) and grabbed it out of my hands. He looked at the paper, then he looked at me. He looked back down at the paper and his cheeks started getting red. His voice sounded kinda tight and funny when he asked, "This it? This is your name?" "Yep! That's my name and now you can't tell me I'll never learn how to spell no more!"
Jojo made a kind of strangly sound and pret'near exploded with haw-hawin'; lucky for me my ma came over to see what was so funny about me learnin' my name and all. Like I say, it was lucky because she kinda made the situation not-so-bad somehow and explained to me that the word I wrote was 'MINE', not Minnie, but that was okay, because it was real close.
Well, right then I stuck my tongue out at Jojo an' said, "Well, my name is mine! It shore ain't yours! So watcha gonna do about that?" and walked all high-and-mighty out of the room. I went upstairs. I prob'ly woulda felt worse, except I got the last word in, and I thought it was a pretty good one, because it left Jojo speechless, and my ma got that look on her face just like Miss Mustovitcht does when she thinks we've said something clever.