The Red Flannel Rag

answered, “Mama put it on me because it’s cold outside today. She said if I wear it, I

won’t get a sore throat or a cold.”

Virgil, wearing the red flannel rag, was the laughing stock of the whole school.

The children in first grade laughed at him. When he went to the lunchroom other kids

laughed, and when he went to recess after lunch, even more children joined in to point

and laugh.

I knew exactly why Virgil was wearing the rag. It could as easily have been my

neck. Mom was just a little late with the red flannel rag preventative that particular fall.

I felt lucky she hadn’t tied one on me that morning.

The teacher, Miss Arlene, was curious as to why the children were laughing. She

asked what was so funny and they said, “That thing around Virgil’s neck.” She looked at

Virgil and walked over to his desk as all the children turned their heads and watched.

She touched the rag and asked him what it was. Virgil sheepishly explained the reason

he was wearing it.

Miss Arlene chuckled along with Virgil’s classmates. She told him, “Colds and

sore throats are caused by germs that travel through the air. They go up your nose or

down your throat when you breathe. Once you have the germs you have to treat them

on the inside of your body. Wearing a rag around your neck won’t keep you from getting

a cold or sore throat.”

Virgil was silenced and humiliated, but he continued to wear his red flannel rag

day after day because h e trusted his mother’s opinion over the teacher’s opinion. He

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