As our move to Kansas City approaches, I am forced to face the fact that I'm leaving Ramsey. I'm really leaving and I'm 99.99999999999999% sure I'll never live in this town again. I've been in Ramsey since the day I was brought home from the hospital. It has helped shape the last 24 years of my life, that's for sure. Although Ramsey has changed a lot from when I was a kid, I still love it...because it's home. Here's a few of my favorite things about Ramsey.
First of all, the school...duh! Lord knows I spent many hours in that school. Just how many hours did I log in those hallways and classrooms? Well, 8 hours a day for 180 days a year. I went to school all 13 years there so that comes to...18,720 hours. That's just school hours. We're not including basketball practices & games, cheerleading practices & games, play practice, Student Council meetings, hanging out before/after school, dances and so on! I have probably logged a solid 25,000 hours! I remember lots of things about school. In 2nd grade, Mrs. Harris wouldn't let me leave the classroom because I tended to sneak down to the library to see my mom. Mrs. Fesser got really mad once in 5th grade, she dropped a book on the floor, it was terrifying...you had to be there I guess. There used to be a partition between Mr. Brewer & Mr. Bigelow's rooms...I remember hearing the other class all day long. Mr. Clay would kick trash cans or bang his fist on the board when we weren't paying attention. I didn't get in a lot of trouble - just two demerits from Mrs. Miller for talking. I remember when Mrs. McClure (sorry, now Lawson) came in Ms. Mayer's geometry class to tell us the World Trade Centers had been attacked. Mr. Kingery reads poetry (Bells, Bells, Bells) like no one else I know. And how about those miles every Friday? Thank you Ms. Gigar for the thousands of laps around the track and up and down those steps in the gym! Those memories are some that I'll never forget. And most of them stem around the fantastic teachers I have. I only hope to be as great as many of those that I mentioned and I pray that my children will have great teachers also. I wouldn't trade going to school in Ramsey for anything. Yes, it is small. But there are advantages to that. The teachers knew us and took the time to invest in our lives. Many of the teachers I mentioned are now retired, but I'm sure they have been replaced with equally awesome teachers!
Next, my first job. Oh Lordy, why did I start working so young? I started working at Pryor's Foods when I was 15. I had to get a work permit and my parents had to drive me back and forth. My boss was a tough guy...who was secretly a softie on the inside. I learned so much at my first job. I learned how to work and deal with difficult people. I learned good work ethic, since I spent my evenings and weekends working instead of going out with friends. I also realized the value of a dollar, opened my first checking account and paid for my own gas! :) I didn't always love working, but I pushed through it. I thank my bosses for the lessons that they taught me.
And here we are at our final destination. If you look above, you will see a picture of a building...it used to be a church building (now it's the Tex Williams Museum...yee-haw!). If you know anything about Ramsey, you will notice I didn't put a picture of our nearly brand-new million dollar church. Instead I chose this slightly run down building - our old church building. This picture was taken today, so in my memories it's in better shape! I grew up in this church building. I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart three rows from the front on the organ side on a Wednesday night. I learned about Jesus in every classroom in that church. I had great Sunday School teachers. Phyllis Tate is the one I remember the most. She has since passed away, but she was a wealth of knowledge. She also brought back giant jaw-breakers when she visited her daughter in California. Other memories of church...I threw up in a few bathrooms (and hallways), I ate lots of great food in the basement. I came back from my first mission trip and told everyone about on the stage in the sanctuary. My nerves got to me those first few years I played the piano. I played lots of Red-Rover, Red-Rover in the yard between the church and the parsonage. I also did a lot of babysitting inside the parsonage. I walked down the aisle twice, when each of my brothers got married. Although our new church building is beautiful, it's not where my memories of First Baptist Church Ramsey are.
As I read over what I've written, I realize that it's not the town I will remember the most. It's the people in the town who I will remember. Those teachers, those bosses and my church family. I'll meet new teachers, have new bosses and have a new church family - but no one can replace the memories that I have of Ramsey. So all you Ramsey-ites out there...keep Ramsey in tip-top shape. Remember, it's the people that make the town. I'll be visiting often and when I roll into town, I expect to see the Ramsey that I grew up in.
First of all, the school...duh! Lord knows I spent many hours in that school. Just how many hours did I log in those hallways and classrooms? Well, 8 hours a day for 180 days a year. I went to school all 13 years there so that comes to...18,720 hours. That's just school hours. We're not including basketball practices & games, cheerleading practices & games, play practice, Student Council meetings, hanging out before/after school, dances and so on! I have probably logged a solid 25,000 hours! I remember lots of things about school. In 2nd grade, Mrs. Harris wouldn't let me leave the classroom because I tended to sneak down to the library to see my mom. Mrs. Fesser got really mad once in 5th grade, she dropped a book on the floor, it was terrifying...you had to be there I guess. There used to be a partition between Mr. Brewer & Mr. Bigelow's rooms...I remember hearing the other class all day long. Mr. Clay would kick trash cans or bang his fist on the board when we weren't paying attention. I didn't get in a lot of trouble - just two demerits from Mrs. Miller for talking. I remember when Mrs. McClure (sorry, now Lawson) came in Ms. Mayer's geometry class to tell us the World Trade Centers had been attacked. Mr. Kingery reads poetry (Bells, Bells, Bells) like no one else I know. And how about those miles every Friday? Thank you Ms. Gigar for the thousands of laps around the track and up and down those steps in the gym! Those memories are some that I'll never forget. And most of them stem around the fantastic teachers I have. I only hope to be as great as many of those that I mentioned and I pray that my children will have great teachers also. I wouldn't trade going to school in Ramsey for anything. Yes, it is small. But there are advantages to that. The teachers knew us and took the time to invest in our lives. Many of the teachers I mentioned are now retired, but I'm sure they have been replaced with equally awesome teachers!
Next, my first job. Oh Lordy, why did I start working so young? I started working at Pryor's Foods when I was 15. I had to get a work permit and my parents had to drive me back and forth. My boss was a tough guy...who was secretly a softie on the inside. I learned so much at my first job. I learned how to work and deal with difficult people. I learned good work ethic, since I spent my evenings and weekends working instead of going out with friends. I also realized the value of a dollar, opened my first checking account and paid for my own gas! :) I didn't always love working, but I pushed through it. I thank my bosses for the lessons that they taught me.
And here we are at our final destination. If you look above, you will see a picture of a building...it used to be a church building (now it's the Tex Williams Museum...yee-haw!). If you know anything about Ramsey, you will notice I didn't put a picture of our nearly brand-new million dollar church. Instead I chose this slightly run down building - our old church building. This picture was taken today, so in my memories it's in better shape! I grew up in this church building. I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart three rows from the front on the organ side on a Wednesday night. I learned about Jesus in every classroom in that church. I had great Sunday School teachers. Phyllis Tate is the one I remember the most. She has since passed away, but she was a wealth of knowledge. She also brought back giant jaw-breakers when she visited her daughter in California. Other memories of church...I threw up in a few bathrooms (and hallways), I ate lots of great food in the basement. I came back from my first mission trip and told everyone about on the stage in the sanctuary. My nerves got to me those first few years I played the piano. I played lots of Red-Rover, Red-Rover in the yard between the church and the parsonage. I also did a lot of babysitting inside the parsonage. I walked down the aisle twice, when each of my brothers got married. Although our new church building is beautiful, it's not where my memories of First Baptist Church Ramsey are.
As I read over what I've written, I realize that it's not the town I will remember the most. It's the people in the town who I will remember. Those teachers, those bosses and my church family. I'll meet new teachers, have new bosses and have a new church family - but no one can replace the memories that I have of Ramsey. So all you Ramsey-ites out there...keep Ramsey in tip-top shape. Remember, it's the people that make the town. I'll be visiting often and when I roll into town, I expect to see the Ramsey that I grew up in.
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