From The Third Floor

FROM THE THIRD FLOOR
In time we were able to move our work area to the first floor student lunchroom, but in the first years that I taught Oil Painting in the Adult and Continuing Education Classes as part of the Jefferson County program at Seneca High School, our classroom was located on the third floor of the School.
Each Wednesday night, my students and myself struggled up the steps with easels, paints and canvases. It was fortunate that they were eager to learn because three flights can be intimidating to an unsuspecting person less dedicated.
During our second series of classes, I learned that students and teachers were not the only ones climbing up to the third floor for work. The ladies of the maintenance brigade also made that journey. We were all surprised when one from the clean up crew walked quietly into our room and without a word, opened the window and dropped a large, black bag of her restroom collection of used paper towels, to the ground below. As if we did not exist, she turned and left the room as silently as she had entered the scene.
On Wednesday nights we came to expect this temporary visitor and always nodded approval to her as we understood the reason for her solving a third floor disposal problem.
I owe that quiet worker a great debt as she taught me to throw and toss instead of carry.
Later In rehabbing old houses, if it wasn't breakable, I would throw it. While setting up outdoor art shows it it would not smash, I pitched it. And while sitting in the audience of “Wicked”, I found a comfortable new meaning for the memorable words, “Toss! Toss!”