Page 156 - From the Outhouse 4 -21

F R O M T H E O U T H O U S E T O T H E L I T T L E R E D S C H O O L H O U S E : | 156

structured format proved to be a disaster in my classroom. One senior teacher whose class was next door to mine, Mrs. Daniels, said
that I was too soft for this population and “needed to institute some discipline.”

A month later, while the injured student was home recuperating, my principal called me into his office for a meeting. The school
board member announced that the parents wanted to sue me and the school. “BUT GOD” released me. My principal spoke on my

behalf, and the case was dropped without going to court. Thank you, Jesus! That was my first and last year at Wharton, but it did not

end my Special Education career.

I left Nashville altogether because of my abusive marriage. In fact, the marriage was so terrible that I left all my wedding gifts there

because I thought saving my life was more important than my wedding gifts.

Upon arrival at the Orlando Airport, I called my mother to tell her I had left my husband and was at the airport. I said, “Please come

pick me up,” and my mom replied, “Thank God!” Both of my parents were extremely happy when I left my husband. My father said
he didn’t like the man when he first met him. He said he was especially dissatisfied when he asked for my hand in marriage by saying,

“When we get married, we are going to move to Nashville, where Pat can get a job, and I can enroll in school.” My father thought my
husband was looking for me to take care of him and not the reverse. This was a particularly unpleasant thought for my father. He

could see and hear that this marriage was doomed from the start. How right he was!

My Marriage Tips

From this bad marriage, I learned the following:

1. Sometimes the person that you meet during the courtship will not be the same person that you come to know during
marriage. Red flags will fly high during the courtship. Do not ignore them!