"Boys may whistle, but girls must sing"

I



So, it's hot and humid and weirdly there are none of the predicted thunderstorms.  Therefore I have had to water the newly planted blueberry bushes, that required a few trips back and forth to the outside tap, not that I mind it is good exercise and I enjoy exercise when I can do it at my own pace.  I also follow the example of the elves in the Snow White story and whistle while I work.    Letting my mind wander or even run away , on this day I rambled back into the 4th grade as I walked, we were the first students to use the old High School building and the 4th and 5th graders where on the top floor.  Which was seriously cool, and made us  feel seriously cool.

But there were even better things about the 4th grade, we had a spritely teacher, a spinster who could teach history from memory, she could play the piano with great gusto, and told the stories about her childhood.  She also treated her students like they might  be able to think.  Anyway, you get the idea 4th grade was pretty good. 

Walking thru the huge arched doors  and up the wide well worn staircases with their ornate balusters and hand rails to a landing where a multi-paned  arched windows afforded us a panoramic view of the treetops and town beyond  always stoked my imagination.  From there we  turned to crossed an expanse  of unfinished floor boards to our classroom, which often conjured up images of the way things might have looked in the schools in the old west.  I loved it . 

Everyday was something new.  And this day proved no exception.  On our desks were brand new song books.  At that time I was only slightly aware that music had it's own written language of notes and symbols, staffs, clefs, rests, it was all interesting to me, especially  because I could whistle a merry tune with the best of them. 

Miss Mackly explained that these were new books and would be kept in the cupboard and not in our desks.   I was much to busy looking at the illustrations, and wondering what new tunes I might learn.  I often made up my own tunes, but learning new ones was easier.  We opened  out books to "Boys may whistle, but girls must sing."  where upon I raised my hand and asked why, but got no satisfactory answer.  And after going thru the song a couple of times I decided to whistle with the boys.  I never was much of a singer.