DANNY
Wow! What a wonderful welcome from this bunch. When I first looked around at all these colorful faces and strangely dressed fifth graders, some of the girls, even two of the boys, wore shorts and T-shirts. I must admit, I was shocked. And I don’t know if there are this many races in my home county and the surrounding area. And getting hugged by a Hispanic fat guy! I never dreamed of such a thing.
I needed to go pee, so I followed Chris to the restroom. Uh, oh, another shock - maybe we were in the wrong room. There are girls all over the place, and guys, too. What the hell is going on? There are urinals and stalls, so I guess it is for both. I slowly went over to the row of urinals and unzipped my jeans, but I was too uptight even to pee. I stood there long enough, but just couldn’t go. I finally gave up and went back to the room.
Joe raised his hand, “I was delivering flyers around town one day, and I went into the rich part of town; ya know, that’s where all the mansions are. Well, I got my ass kicked.” He looked around to make sure we were all listening and went on, “These three guys, one about my size and two a year or so older and bigger, grabbed my bag of flyers and started throwing them around, all over the place. One guy yelled, ‘Let the wind deliver them for you, dummy.’ I started to pick them up, and another guy kicked me in the butt, and another one pushed me down and kicked me in the ribs, and said, ‘Now go and do your cluttering in your neighborhood? And why don’t you go back to where you belong and stay there?’ He was as black as I, too, so I think he meant that boys don’t have to work to make spending money. I know we’d never be able to own one of those swanky houses. So, I learned that we have a long way to go before we have a more equal world to live in. And I’m glad that I learned not to fight back but just to be patient and peaceful.”
“Ya got that right, man.” Came from Gordo Torres. I thought about telling the group that we had that kind of thing happening almost every day back in good ol’ Miss, but I didn’t. Maria asked Joe if any of the boys were from our school, and he answered that he didn’t think so.
Olivia sang, “I live in that part of town, and I hope no one in my family would do that to you, or anyone else. Oh, and I think we got a flyer on our porch that day. Was it on the last Thursday in July? And was it for a sale at Walmart?” Joe nodded, and Olivia said that she had probably run into those mean-spirited guys.
11.
Sam said, “Joe, I hope that experience doesn’t sour you on all people who are wealthier than you. I lived in a poorer area in Enid, Oklahoma, and there were some folks like that there. I had to fight with myself not to hate all of them because of the meanness of a few.”
Maria Sanchez spoke up, “I had a more wonderful experience this summer. We, my family, and I, went to Guadalajara, Mexico, on that new super-fast train to visit my dad’s family. First, we took our fast train to Tucson, Arizona, and then changed trains, and in only six hours, we were in Guadalajara. And Dad’s family was friendly. That city is humongous, and I loved being around all those people who spoke Spanish all the time. I’m now proud to say I’m Mexican.”
I was amazed to hear all of my new classmates talk about themselves and their families and, well, their lives. For the first time, I realized that I didn’t know anything at all about my classmates in Mississippi. In just over an hour, I’ve gotten to know these 10 people better than I did any ten people in Mississippi. There was no order to who or when anyone talked; it was kinda like a big family dinner table I saw on TV, where people shared when there was an opening. They tried to be polite and not interrupt, but sometimes they would talk over each other. In my family, we kids didn't speak at all, except when Dad asked us a question. We were cautious about what we said, hoping he would like to hear it.
Chris started to say that he began to realize that he knew more about building a house than some of the grown-up men did, and Gordo immediately interrupted him, “Just like yer smarter than anyone in this room, huh?” Chris ignored him and went on to say that he sometimes had to be careful how he said something and not hurt an older person’s feelings. Sam thanked Chris for sharing his experience and reminded us that each of us is gifted and challenged in unique ways. Olivia added in her sing-songy way, “I, I, hope none of you are challenged like me.”
I could not think of a single time I heard anyone, teacher, or student, tell me, or anybody else, how smart or gifted someone was - ever. Back in Mississippi, I had often been asked to do some challenging things that other kids weren’t, and I guessed I had some giftedness, but I wasn’t sure. I knew that Kenny Singleton never made it past the second word in our girls versus boys spelling bees and stuff like that, so being smarter than Kenny was no big deal. Then I wondered if this school had spelling bees. Several times I had been the only boy still standing at the end of the contest with four or five girls still standing. I was two years older than some of these guys and gals in this group, so I’m sure I’m not smart. Gordo interrupted my musings, “Well, my big brother last year, found me a job in his family’s bakery and I started working there July first. I’m making donuts and slicing bread and lots of neat stuff. And they treat me like one of the family. And they are going to keep me on part time, now that schools have started. I really like it. And now I can help with the grocery bill.” Joe added, “Now, Gordo, don’t go eating up all your profits.” Several others moaned.
12.
Evie started talking and immediately began to cry as she said through her tears, “I, uh, I’m glad that you all have been having some good news to tell us. I’m not growing in any way good because my Dad and Mom are talking about getting a divorce, and I’m not sure why. Mom says that Dad is cheating on her, and Dad says he only saw another woman once and he did something sinful with her, but he still loves my Mom and…” She began sobbing uncontrollably, and Maria nudged Gordo to change seats. She put her arms around Evie, and Evie leaned into her. Ella quietly went across the circle and knelt in front of Evie and put her hands, arms, and head on Evie’s lap. All the girls were crying, and my lord, so were Gordo, Chris, and Joe. I felt sorry for Evie, but I couldn’t cry because I would be so glad if my mom would leave my idiot dad, and crying in front of all these students would just be too embarrassing.
I sat there stunned, I had never seen anything like this and couldn’t imagine it ever happening in school – ever. Sam kept silent as well, and when Evie stopped crying, he softly said, “I want to remind you all that everything that anyone shares in this room is confidential and cannot be shared with anyone outside our cohort.” He then added, “And Danny, I did forget to tell you that, didn’t I?”
I nodded and whispered, “No, but I understand.” Both Mom and Dad had often said that about personal family stuff. After a while, Evie patted Ella on the head, nudged Maria, and said, “Thank you, and thank everybody for your understanding.” She shyly smiled and added, “I’ll, uh, let you know how we’re doing in my family. Now, please, will somebody take the spotlight away from me?”
I had learned a lot this summer, but I didn’t want to share any of it with anyone here in school. Sam stood up and announced that it was time to end this cohort session and added, “I am very pleased to see how wonderfully open and compassionate you all are, and Danny, how are you? I’m guessing you’ve never had a class like this in Mississippi.”
“No, I haven’t, but I think I’m going to like it because I already like all of you. Thanks.”
Sam came over to me and said, “I’ll see you at 3:30.” He patted me on the shoulder and went over to where Evie was sitting.
