A Sixtieth Anniversary Song
 
I asked Jack Maier, "Who is that pretty girl
Up there beside the schoolhouse?"  "Stay away
From her!" he said. "That's Mr. Houdlette's daughter!
Her father's fierce and mean — the meanest teacher
At Lincoln Junior High! And every day
He beats on her until she has to hurl."
So I stayed far away as I could get —
Through junior high and high — from Jean Houdlette.
 
And then I joined the navy, saw the world
Aboard a carrier, but never found
A girl as pretty, so when the last wave curled
About my feet I soon was homeward bound
To find the girl that I had never met
In seventh grade, and I am with her yet.