200504 May 4, 2020

The Witch's Mouse

Curt Lewis

LHS '66

The story of the pencil lead incident generated some interest. I prefer not to divulge the identity of the teacher because my description of her is not charitable.

I don’t remember exactly when Eddie Jones came to Lee. I got to know him sometime during my Sophomore or Junior year, and we became good friends as fellow sufferers in Mrs. Witch’s infamous Junior English class. Eddie was short and wiry and probably would have made a good athlete, although I don’t remember him participating in any school sports. He seemed to be fearless, but had a congenial, kind nature and sense of humor that made him very likable. Eddie came to participate in various of my high school garage band activities as an occasional vocalist.

One memorable morning in our Junior year, we were seated in Mrs. Witch’s classroom awaiting the beginning of English class. Mrs. Witch entered the room, closed the door, and proceeded toward her desk as the class dutifully grew silent. She pulled out her chair and was about to be seated when a tiny mouse ran into the room under a crack in the door and headed straight for Mrs. Witch, who emitted a blood-curdling shriek and jumped up onto her chair (heels and all). She already had the full attention of the class before the mouse entered, and we sat in rapt enjoyment of Mrs. Witch’s discomfort.

Eddie Jones, being a kind and compassionate soul, took pity on Mrs. Witch and leapt from his desk in pursuit of the mouse. After a brief scuffle under the desk, Eddie emerged victorious carrying the mouse by the tail out the door to the thunderous ovation of an amused class. Eddie became known as “Mouse” to his friends throughout high school as word of his fearless exploit spread throughout the halls of LHS.

Mouse went on to enlist in the U.S. Marines following high school. The last time I saw him was after he had completed basic training and was home on leave prior to further assignment. We double-dated a couple of LHS students and enjoyed some libations in the process. We dropped my date off at her home, but Mouse’s date was tipsy and had the giggles, and we were reluctant to return her to her parents in that condition. I left Mouse and his date near a huge pine tree that was once located near the corner of Governors Drive and California street, and they disappeared under the branches. I drove around for the next hour or so to kill some time. When I returned, Mouse emerged from under the tree with his now-sober date in tow and we safely returned her home.

That was the last time I recall seeing Mouse. I have no doubt he made a fearless soldier and hope he’s been having a terrific life.

Last Week's Name That Movie

Thomas Davidson, LHS '69

1. Goldfinger - -- from Goldfinger

2. Theme from Exodus -- - from the movie Exodus

3. Theme from Patton - - the movie Patton

4. Laura's Theme - - from Dr Zhivago

5. Theme from Zorba the Greek - - - from movie Zorba the Greek

John Drummond, LHS '65, "The first song is "Goldfinger" performed by the English singer Shirley Bassey, from the film of the same name. It was the third in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery, following "Dr. No" and "From Russia, with Love". I think the third song is the opener for "The Longest Day", a black and white film about D-Day. Ironically, the actor Gert Frobe, who appears in the film as a German soldier, played the villain Auric Goldfinger (as an aside, the name Auric derives from "Au" which is the chemical chart symbol for the element gold). The fourth song is "Lara's Theme" from the film "Dr. Zhivago", starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie. Lastly, the final song, which is clearly Greek music, may (or may not) be from "Zorba the Greek".

(Editor's Note: The Longest Day is incorrect, but the information given is interesting.)

Max Kull, LHS '67, Number 4 - Lara's Theme from Dr. Zhivago - For once, I know where I first saw it...on a double date at a drive in movie in Huntsville. It took me seeing it again later before I knew what happened. Number 5 - I believe is Zorba's Dance from Zorba the Greek although it doesn't sound like the instrumentation as I remember it from the movie.

Jeffrey Fussell, LHS '66, "One got away again -- #3 was a total blank. It would have been a good one for a Western. Because Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass had a very popular version of “Zorba the Greek” that was played on radio and TV, I recognized the melody of #5. I have neither seen the movie nor heard the original score. Thanks for an entertaining spin on “Name That Tune”.

This Week's Name That Movie

This week's list of five songs all come from movies popular around the time we were at Lee (based upon the multiple class years some may have already graduated). See if you can identify the movies by these songs. Remember, this time you need to name the MOVIE and not just the SONG, even though they may be the same. Anything personal you wish to share about any of the movies is highly encouraged.

Memphis, TN - I want to highlight the answers John Drummond submitted for the Name That Movie trivia contest above. John did not just answer the questions, but took the time to expand on his thoughts about the movies. Sure, he missed a couple of them, but his insights and personal reflections are what we are striving for in Lee's Traveller. I do not plan to simply list all the same answers for the trivia questions, (if everyone gets them right) but will highlight the answers that go beyond just the correct answer and especially if it reflects on some high school memories. However, thanks to all of you who have enjoyed this feature and have submitted your own ideas for future movies. I can only do one a week but I will eventually get around to covering the ones you sent in. Don Wynn has a hit with this idea.

Last week we had another attempt at getting the Lee's Traveller readers together for a Zoom session and had 22 people tune in to the group. There was no agenda but it gave us all another chance to solve some of the mysteries of the Zoom program and a chance to catch up with some old friends. I have found out a lot about Zoom during these sessions and am trying each device I have to see what the differences may be between the various platforms of Windows, Apple, and android devices. I did find out why my iPhone's Virtual Background did not work. I have an iPhone 6 and you must have an 8 or higher to use the Virtual Background function. We'll schedule another session in a couple of weeks and see how much we have progressed. I also found out that I failed to get the session recorded because I did not hit the right keys to turn on the recorder built into the program.

For those of you who are asking the questions about whether or not the planned reunion will still take place due to the COVID-19 problems, I can only tell you that a bunch of dedicated and hard working classmates are still assessing the situation and will make a decision as soon as possible. Their number one concern is the safety of all of you.