I attended the second and third grades in Rylie Grade School a few miles outside Dallas, Texas. My cousin, Willard Cornell was in the same grade with me. The principal and seventh grade teacher was Mr Godwin, his wife taught second grade and their son, Harold was in the same grade as Willard and I. Another member of the class was Laura Lively, whose mother taught third grade at that time.
When we began the third grade with Mrs Lively, a new girl joined our class. That was the first I saw Shirley Ray Price. I was already in love with Shirley Temple, but Shirley Ray was there and then and reminded me so much of Shirley Temple. She was the prettiest girl I had ever seen and I fell in love with her immediately.
Whenever it was possible, I would shift my position in my desk so that I could see her pretty face. She never smiled very much but I could still see her beauty. When she would catch me looking at her, she would glare at me in a way that made me want to melt and quickly ooze out of sight.
I lived down a lane across the Rylie-Kleberg Road from the school, about a ten minute walk. Shirley Ray rode a school bus and, if memory serves me well, she lived in the Mesquite area as did Jeanette Cross, whom Willard thought was really nice. Instead of going home when school let out for the day, I would hang around near the bus pickup while Shirley waited for her bus. I'm sure I tried to talk to her, but there was very little conversation between us. Mostly, I would just walk back and forth getting as much time as I could just looking at her. And then came the day I have always remembered, the last day I gave one of her pigtails a tug.
Shirley Ray turned and took a swing at me. I ducked and backed away but she came after me. I ran all the way around the school building with her close behind me. We had been around the building only once when she caught me, threw me to the ground face down and jumped astraddle of me. She pounded her fists into my back yelling that I should never, ever pull her hair again. To this day, I never have.
I have thought of Shirley Ray countless times as the last half dozen decades have slipped by and I wonder what ever became of SHIRLEY RAY PRICE.
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