When that fourth-grade teacher told you not to start a sentence with and, s/he was referring to the fact that you stuck and in between every sentence. S/he clearly did not know you would grow up and be a court reporter and have to deal with witnesses who string many sentences together with and.
When faced with the "narrative answer," you are forced to start a new sentence -- maybe even a paragraph -- with the word and. The rule of thumb is no more than three sentences put into one. And after six to eight typed lines, it is time to start a new paragraph -- even if it means starting the paragraph with the word and.
...The man was driving rather erratically, and he turned left immediately in front of a car, and he seemed totally unaware of the traffic around him. And I observed him as he pulled into a driveway in an attempt to make a U-turn, and he backed out without even seeming to notice the cars. And he escaped hitting any other cars because of the actions of other drivers, and they are the ones that saved him from disaster.
And he continued...
Happy punctuating!
Margie