What nun ? Where ?

 

     You can still hear a few nun jokes and the horror stories of nun brutality from almost any adult that attended real school, i.e., Catholic School in the 1950's and '60's. These parochial schools had a card carrying, habit garbed, pointer wielding nun at the head of every classroom.  This lady kept order over from 15 to 50 students for the entire school day and managed to teach them at the same time.  Something not possible today. 

     Whenever two or more alumni of these institutions meet talk will inevitably turn to our classroom experiences. Speaking with great enthusiasm we will exchange light hearted banter before slipping into the telling of our most horrifying, neurosis inducing classroom experiences.  As these stories evolve there is the exhibiting of schizophrenic behavior by the speaker and audience alike. There is wild swinging of arms and loud interruptions of " Ah, man! " and " No ! ".   Everyone is in an uproar.  As emotional exhaustion takes over the group a few listeners will give an exaggerated nod of the head in the hope of conveying the empathy everyone feels for the victim speaker.  As the session ends there are clucking sounds emanating from a sympathetic friend followed by an uncomfortable moment of silence.  Everyone is spent and looks horsewhipped.  Then,  a round of drinks is ordered and the talk turns to how fast time passes and what our grandchildren are doing. 
     Hold on there.  Our grandchildren?  Grown grandchildren?  We're old people still talking about grade and high school?  Good Lord, what is wrong with us?  I will venture to say nothing, at least not because we're telling old stories.  That is, if we really have  at this point in our lives, reached inside our heart and soul for truth and understanding for all of the brave, strong, good women that devoted their lives to teaching the ungrateful urchins that we were ( are ).  

                                                                
     I believe the nuns, just as our mothers,  received the blame for many an imagined slight toward us, their beloved daughters and sons.   And, as with mothers everywhere, the nuns have paid a high price for it.   Many a  psychiatrist, psychologist, past student, author and Catholic comedian blames their mother and the nuns that  taught them for most everything they feel is wrong with them and therefore, the world.   
                                                                MOTHERs and NUNs =

                                                                                                                               

   Nuns are, sadly to say, becoming extinct. It doesn't look as though their numbers will reach above the endangered range ever again.  And, despite the horror stories of ax wielding nuns, that is a real shame. A shame for The Church, for the languishing and empty convents; a shame for the untaught children and empty school houses and a real shame for the whole world. Even the priests are sorry to see them go. Like fathers left on their own to care for themselves and their children, they have found that house cleaning, child care and teaching the faithful is harder than they thought.   The Church is missing a woman's touch.
 

                                                                  

    Allow me to venture way off the subject for a moment.  Let me add my own opinion.  The loss of a female, be she a nun or not, within the church rectories allowed more child abuse and misbehavior by priests than would have been had the priests remained under the watchful care and eyes of a good woman. With no consistent female influence around him the priest did as many a man alone does. He did as he pleased.

     My word! Do you realize I haven't gotten to the subject I started to write this post about?  No, I won't keep on now as it is too late.  I will say my original subject is on a very happy note though.  I'll try to get onto that real soon.