I’ve had snippets of the 1996 film Matlida stuck in my head for weeks. I loved that flick, I can remember trying for days to make my spoon feed me my cereal using mind power after seeing it. I think more movies nowadays could do with some Danny DeVito too, at least a voiceover.
Matilda gets placed in a class at school with a teacher called Mrs. Honey. Mrs. Honey is as sweet as her namesake and quite truly the bees knees of teachers as far as primary school educators may go (sorry Mum, you’re great – but Mrs. Honey was Mrs. Honey). She lived in a perfect cottage with a thousand overgrown flowers lacing and curling about the pickett fence and window sills, and she may very well have been the instigator for the secret recepie of the honey oat cookies that the Berenstain Bears always ate. If there was a fictional food I could eat – those cookies would be it.
In Mrs. Honey’s class they were learning to spell the word “Mississippi,” and Mrs. Honey in her impeccably adorable nature taught the kids using a little mnemonic story about a bunch of married ladies that spelled Mississippi…
“Mrs M, Mrs I, Mrs S S I, Mrs S S I, Mrs P P I, Mississippi”
The other day as I was thinking up blog names, the idea of a big ol’ river kept running through my head, I considered naming it after the Johnny Cash song Big River but alas it was taken. As I walked from work to get sushi for dinner, I dreamed of Americana and sittin’ by a river chewin’ on grass.
And Mississippi Calling came.
It’s also a book – so if anyone goes for copyright, they can have it.
But this is Mississippi Calling – for me, for here, for now.
This is so I write more often.
I hope you like it, but if you don’t – you don’t have to read it, which is a nice alternative indeed!
Enjoy.
catherinesietkiewicz.com 
I’m Australian, and I was taught how to spell Mississippi using that ditty of a song. That was in the 70’s, so it’s been around for a long time. I love the movie Matilda. I’m 45 and still can’t make my spoon feed me, lol 🙂
I only just read this, Tracy – love it 🙂
X
In Matilda, they were not spelling Mississippi. They were spelling “Difficulty”.
Mrs.D, Mrs.I, Mrs.FFI, Mrs.C, Mrs.U, Mrs.LTY
It appears I’ve had some difficulty myself in remembering the film as well as you.
Thanks for your comment 🙂
– Catherine
I watched it few years ago. I always though that spelling out the Mississippi was the best part of the movie. When I watched it they spelled out difficulty. I was confused, as it turns out I’m not the only one to have remember it as Mississippi
Me and my mommy were stuck with spelling Mississippi but you have helped me and my mommy
My Pa (Grandfather) taught me this back in the 90s (I think I was about 10), not sure why since I’m in Australia. But it’s stuck in my mind.