Gum...

Sorry I have had writers block and I just can't seem to get the pumpkin story just right.

As I was waiting for my class to begin online, I was reading health articles on AOL. Don't ask me why. I haven't had cable all week and this is what my life has resorted to. I found an article entitled, "Improve Your Memory." I have the worst memory. I remember when I was younger walking upstairs and forgetting what I was going to do by the time I go to the top of the stairs. Just this week, I was on the phone with my mom and we were discussing how I needed to do something for school. We discussed a few other things after that and at the end of the conversation she mentioned school again. I had completely forgotten we had discussed this earlier on in the telephone call. Needless to say when I saw this article, I knew I should read it.

When I was in 7th grade in my 7th period, last class of the day, I had history. Who put's an important class subject at the end of the day for 7th graders? There were two teachers that taught history 7th period. A football coach and an older woman. Why couldn't I have gotten the football coach? Anyways, my teacher and I didn't see eye to eye on a certain subject. That subject would be gum. I loved chewing gum. I didn't smack my gum. I didn't put my gum under my desk. I was a respectable gum chewer. However my teacher (I can't remember her name.. I think it started with a H) didn't agree. Everyday we would go through the same thing.

"Anna, do you have have something in your mouth?" - Mystery teacher H
"Yes ma'am" - me
"Don't you think you should get rid of it?" - Mystery teacher H
"I just put it in my mouth and it still has all of its flavor. Can I please wait a little longer?" - me
"Anna, spit out your gum."- Mystery teacher H

I guess I missed her 'this is my last warning' because one day, out of the blue, she made me stay after school and scrap gum off the bottom of the desk. I explained to her that I didn't put my gum on the bottom of the desk, but she wasn't fond on reasoning with anybody.

This brings me back to today. This is a segment from the article.


Chew Gum
And to think most teachers made us spit out our gum during class. Research conducted by the Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston shows that chewing gum can improve alertness. Teenagers who chomped away for 14 weeks during math class and while doing math homework scored higher on tests and in their final grades compared to the teens who weren't given gum. A similar study conducted a few years ago at the University of Northumbria in Newscastle found that people who chewed gum during long-term and short-term memory tests scored better than nonchewers. While experts haven't pinpointed the link between chewing gum and memory, Japanese researchers believe it may stem from an increased heart rate (thanks to the chewing) that leads to extra oxygen being delivered to the brain.

Maybe I would have remembered my teacher's name if she had let me chew my gum...