The Teacher, Maggie Pye

Mrs. Maggie Nola Olivia Pye is a difficult person to live with... she really is.

Of course it would take actually living with her to completely understand why. However, you would have to enjoy living under the hammer of an iron fist - albeit the iron fist of a cute little dictator with the heart of a wild beast, when it comes to her home.

Maggie hovers. She makes sure whatever is done in her home meets with her standards. That includes how you fold your napkin to how you clean your plate... no one is exempt. She will smother you in a kind of righteous indignation she never applies to herself - she is exempt. I know this because I was a guest in her home recently.

Maggie calls me "Tulsa" but my name is Louise Gersh, from Tulsa, Oklahoma. We were roommates at the teachers college for 2 years. I had forgotten what it was like to live with Maggie and I wonder how I survived those times with my sanity intact.

Maggie Pye considers herself just about perfect in every way - minus a few minor foibles, of course. She is unable to see objectively when it comes to herself, yet tunes into everyone else with a magnifying glass. I suppose these characteristics are what make her such a fine teacher... They are fine characteristics, aren't they?

As you may suspect, Maggie brooks no nonsense from her students and insists on the utmost academic success from each and every one of them... Failure is not an option. Teacher awards seem to purposely single Maggie out, year after year. There just is something wonderful about Maggie.

Only last week she was honored by the National Education Association. This cute little dictator is very well loved and respected by many, many people, including me. Even her husband, who has to live with her every day, loves and respects her.

Maggie's husband, Fresh Rayburn Pye, would do anything in the world for his sweet Maggie. But even he must resort to his man-cave when his patience wears thin. "Fresh" is a family name... his mother never told him anymore than that.

Be you a student in her classroom or a relative in her home, Maggie Pye is difficult to live with. She is a loveable tyrant and will always make sure you understand what you need to know, when you need to know it.