I want to apologize for the extended wait time. I have started classes with the goal of getting my Bachelor’s at Morgan State University. I am also working on practicing my MIndfulness and easing any anxiety I have with starting classes. As I tend to focus on the future that isn’t here, I know that if I don’t have myself centered, my excitement for school can lead to crippling anxiety and depression. Thankfully, I’ve not only managed to work through various hiccups, my first week has yielded great progress and news. Yay me!
And now, back to the blog…
From what I remember, 1985 was a pretty good year. Hip Hop was coming up as the music of choice. While Star Wars was fading a bit, GI Joes and Transformers were in full effect. Michael Jackson was EVERYWHERE and Prince was my favorite artist. And comic books were inexpensive and you could get one nearly anywhere. Yes, even supermarkets.
I graduated elementary school in June. It was bittersweet, I was looking forward to moving up to the 6th grade. However I wasn't going with most of my friends to All-Saints middle school. Normally most students moved from Rosa Parks to the All-Saints or they went to the public middle school. My Mom found another Catholic school, St. Charles in Pikesville. Located in Baltimore County, it was a straight shot from my house to school. Maybe my Mom thought a change of scenery would be good. Good intentions…
This would be the first time I’d take the bus this far. The farthest I’ve traveled on the MTA was Reisterstown Road Plaza or closer, my grandparent’s home on Pulaski Street. Thankfully the M2 (I’m old school) would take me directly where I needed to be. Back then, the MTA had “zones.” For each zone there was an additional cost. Zone one was the standard price, I think we’re talking 60 or 75 cents. Then you add ten cents for each additional zone. I thought it felt kinda classist and racist, but I was the young person who didn’t trust a lot of things based on what I read about this country.
My first few days and weeks I couldn’t tell you what it was like. I know I caught the M2 everyday with little issues. A friend from elementary school and the neighborhood Demetrius would sometimes be on the bus. We mostly saw each other in school and the occasional times we’d walk from school to a 7-11 to play videogames or Reisterstown Road Plaza to “pick up” some toys. This would also happen when I was 10 cents short for the “zone two.”
What I do remember is the honeymoon with St. Charles was over quickly. I wasn’t a bad child. I did have imagination, I would get bored easily, and like most folks, I rather read my comics than listen to a long winded lecture. The first major offense was when I pulled out a loose tooth in the middle of class. I was sent to the office, I’m thinking I’ll see the nurse and come back to class. I was told to go into the principal's office instead.
Sitting in a chair that was a bit too big for me, I was told that they were “told about me” and I needed to behave. Something clicked in me. I felt threatened and put in a corner for no reason. It wasn’t like I pulled my tooth out and flung it around the class. I didn’t make any noise or make a scene. What should have happened is the nurse sees me and then I go back to class. At that moment my favorite superhero Wolverine clicked in and I decided to “fight” rather than “flight.”
At Rosa Parks, I had my share of being mischievous. Getting in trouble for “transforming” from the hallway into class, reading comic books (even when my work was done and my reading level was “advanced”), being a Black boy happened often. In the lens of the early 80s and how many young Black boys received punishments for minor things, this wasn’t seen as unusual. Add the “Board of Education,” the paddle we’d get hit with by the principal (or rulers depending on if the Sister did capital punishment), elementary school had its share of “discipline.” Discipline that never worked with me. Just made me mad and when I got mad, I usually made it worse.
I couldn’t imagine THIS would be my introduction to the principal. St. Charles was supposed to be a brand new start. This wouldn’t be the last situation I’d have like this. However it wasn’t all bad. Before everything went to crap, I found one the best places in the world, the Baltimore County Library.