Hudgins Column: Books are good, but best lessons in life come from people

Eventually, all of us Earthlings will experience our demise, leaving behind all of our belongings to be disposed of or passed on. And right now, I’m feeling a little guilty about all the work I’ll leave for my loved ones.

Not that I have that much stuff of value. But I have a lot of stuff. Just plain stuff.

Cleaning out part of our basement the other day, forced into action because of a water leak, I came across memorabilia from all the way through my school years and beyond. I even found a Christmas card from my first-grade teacher, Mrs. Winters.

The card featured a photo of Mrs. Winters wearing the orchid I had given her for Christmas two years earlier. I don’t know if the orchid presentation, which I’m certain was my mother’s idea, came before or after Mrs. Winters turned me down over her lap and spanked my behind.

I’m not sure what offense I had committed, but some tiny voice from the past tells me it was because I wasn’t doing as well in school as my brother, who already knew his ABC’s the first day he stepped into Mrs. Winters’ room four years earlier. He probably could read some. I doubt I even knew how to read a clock, much less a See Dick Run book.

What I am sure of, though, is that my dungarees were soaking wet when Mrs. Winters completed her paddling, and I’ve always wondered if her dress was in the same condition.

 I don’t know why, but I actually did fairly well in grammar school after the first grade. And I came to a conclusion as I gazed at Mrs. Winters’ unsmiling face on the card: We learn mostly from people, not from books.

My father taught me to always be early for work; if you’re just on time, you’re late.

My mother taught me to care about other people. Sometimes, all it takes is a phone call to show you care.

My brother taught me to never back down from a bully, no matter how big he is. (I think I violated that recommendation one time.)

My sister taught me to do what my heart tells me to do, regardless of what society says I should do. If you don’t want to go to college, don’t go.

My first editor taught me that newspaper editorials should judge only what the person does, not his or her motives. It’s unfair to surmise someone’s motives.

Another editor taught me that facts are facts, but what’s important is how they’re presented. You can call a spade a spade without saying it’s a darn dirty shovel.

An elementary school teacher taught me that there’s some good in just about everybody. It’s just well-hidden sometimes.

A friend taught me the importance of preserving meaningful items from the past. Which probably is the reason I have so much stuff for my folks to go through after I’m gone.

 I apologize, girls and boys. You don’t have to keep Mrs. Winters’ card.