One kiss, two men
Charlie Ross was one of the top students in Independence High School in 1901. His English teacher was Miss Matilda Brown, young, beautiful, and charming.
Everyone knew Charlie was Miss Brown’s favorite student. Being adored by a popular teacher brought a lot of pressure, Charlie studied very hard to defend the title “Teacher’s Sweetheart”. He kept telling himself that he must be a better student. Nevertheless, he was often laughed at behind his back. They said, if Charlie didn’t become a famous person, Miss Brown wouldn’t forgive him.
And Charlie did become a famous person. It might be related to an affair that took place at the graduation ceremony. After the valedictory speech, the students came up to receive their certificates. When Charlie walked to the stage, Miss Brown rushed up and kissed him, in front of all the students.
Alright, Charlie was a great student. He was the valedictorian earlier that day, the chief-editor of the school yearbook, and a teacher’s sweetheart. But was he that good to get a kiss from Miss Brown? The love of all boys in the school?
People expected the kiss on the stage would cause laughter and unrest among students. But the campus remained surprisingly quiet. Many students, especially boys, were actually feeling depressed and neglected. They surrounded Miss Brown after the ceremony. The leading boy came up and asked her why she overlooked other students. He said, “Well, don’t I get one too?”
Miss Brown faced them with perfect composure. She told the leading boy, “Not until you have done something worthwhile.”
Her words made the students feel better, but not Charlie. He felt the pressure shoot over the roof, saw more envy in the eyes around him. Some bad students even confronted him with assault. They all fueled Charlie’s determination to prove that he was worth the kiss from Miss Brown.
He entered the newspaper industry after college, his career and fame steadily increasing through all the hard work. But he didn't become a nationwide famous person until he was invited by President Harry Truman to be his Press Secretary. One of Charlie’s top tasks after taking the position was to make a call to Independent High School and get Miss Brown. Charlie conveyed greetings and a question from Mr. President, “Miss Brown, do you remember the kiss that I didn’t get? Do I get it now?”
It turned out, the leading boy after the ceremony was Harry Truman, the President of the United States.
He got the kiss 44 years after, when he made his first presidential trip home in 1945.
