Here is a funny story from my book, "27 Cottage Place".  Please enjoy it and Merry Christmas to all.

Pop Stearns and the 25 Cent Geometry Problem

Pop Stearns was one of my favorite teachers at Sleepy Hollow High School. I had him for Geometry in my sophomore year and he doubled as the junior varsity football coach. I remember, with almost absurd clarity, the time I had the audacity to tell Pop  Stearns he was wrong, in front of his geometry class, challenging him in his very own bastion.

Pop Stearns

He was solving one of our many geometry problems on the blackboard. I noticed something wrong so I raised my hand to brashly announce that he had made a mistake. (I would have never done it, but I was quite sure that I was right.) He argued with me that he was not wrong. I argued back that he was wrong; trying to point out his error..

After a few more argumentative exchanges, he said he would bet me a quarter that he was right and I would not be able to prove him wrong. I accepted the challenge. I stepped up to the blackboard and solved the problem for him, showing clearly his misstep.

I will never forget the combination look of surprise and chagrin on his face as he reluctantly accepted his defeat, reached into his pocket and pulled out a little leather change purse. He slowly opened the purse and reached in with two fingers to find a quarter. He dropped the quarter into my hand and went on to the next problem. I always wondered if he had made that mistake on purpose just to see if anyone was “watching”. I guess I'll never know.

While I was delighted to have won the bet, I suspect that he got his revenge many times over on the football field. You see, being the JV football coach, Pop was in charge of how many laps we had to run and how many push ups we had to execute.

There are many more stories in the book.  You may purchase a copy at Amazon.com.