I've been writing my middle grade series that takes place in a town called Nowhere, Oklahoma (not it's real name--SURPRISE! *snort*), when I was six. We moved from California to this little hole-in-the-wall town in March of 1968 (Yes, I know I'm dating myself). Anyhoo, I couldn't remember how long we lived there, so I called my mom (still kickin' at 88 years old). We lived there only four months. But it was four months that none of us will ever forget.
I have some wonderful memories, but my siblings didn't. Mom shared a few with me, one of them she recently found out from my bro (5 years my senior).
Jumping ahead here--when Erica Orloff critted my Faerie story, she mentioned that the teacher was too mean. Well, okay, I could tone her down, especially since the gym teacher was a goblin and he could do mean quite nicely thank you very much. But meanness in teachers isn't a new thing. It comes in all forms.
Back to my bro's story. It turns out the teachers in this little town didn't take too kindly to strangers, much less strangers from CALIFORNIA. In fact, they wouldn't allow any people of color to live within the city limits. I think when my aunt died in 1988, they 'allowed' one African-American family to move in, and I'm sure it wasn't an easy adjustment for that family. Remember--boondocks of Oklahoma. My bro's teacher was nasty enough to make him stand at the front of the class to 'teach' the rest of the class square roots, because he was from California, therefore smarter than everyone else. My bro had just turned 12 and hadn't learned square roots.
Four months later we moved to Tulsa, a virtual metropolis, but I think that experience had a profound effect on my bro. In high school, he wasn't just at the top of the curve for grades, he was so far ABOVE the curve they had to leave him out of the calculations because he skewed the curve too much. He continued his academic career by getting a PhD in Electrical Engineering. Yep, he's one smart cookie. And sometimes when I talk to him, everything goes right over my head, and I've been known to ask him to dumb it down for me.
Everything that we see, do, act upon, etc. changes who we are. It becomes our baggage. Some baggage is good, some isn't. It's all in how we deal with it or if we allow the baggage to rule our lives.
Something to think about.
Write on!
Ask any person who has been through a divorce if they have baggage! Bring two divorcees together and the baggage issue can ruin a relationship.
ReplyDeleteRE: School-- I had several extremely mean teachers while in elementary school, and when I taught school, I never humiliated a student.
Just think, if you'd stayed in your little town you might have been friends with the Pioneer Woman, who grew up not far away. LOL
ReplyDeleteThe town where I live has never had more than a handful of African Americans, but not because they weren't allowed. They'd rather live ten miles north of us, where the town has a great football team and players get scholarships to OU.
The one man who did live here had a home in the other town, too. With a family in each place.
;)
Susan
Meg is right about divorce. Mine was in 1982 and to this day it has an impact on my current marriage (25 years in Nov 09) It's the "he could leave me" mentality. I've talked to other divorcees who have the same insecurities about relationships.
ReplyDeleteEveryone has those "events" in their past that color their views of the world. It's how you use those experiences that matter.
I can remember in grade school, my 4th grade teacher chastising a girl in front of the class for not having shoes that fit. Even now I still feel sorry for the girl. I knew they must be poor. The teacher picked on her through the whole school year, and the girl didn't deserve it.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could travel back in time -- as an adult -- and give that little girl a hug.
Don't even get me started on teachers at school. I go to bat constantly for my kids because of bad teachers. grrss If they don't like kids, why do they teach? And the counseler & principle at my daughters school are idiots. A boy in my daughters class died over christmas break in a car accident, a good freind of my daughters, and the school didn't acknowledge it at all. Never a moment of silence and didn't offer any grief counseling.It was like he never existed...because he was popular with the teachers. Daughter wanted to do a page in the yearbook in memory of him, and the school said sure, but it's $65. They couldn't give her one page for that? GRRSSS again. Sorry, I went off on a rant.
ReplyDeleteI won't even talk about my baggage. It's enough to fill the hull of an airplane. But it's what you do with it. One of my fave sayings...you don't have to be what you're background tries to make you.
My experience with school was that the teachers were fabulous and the other kids were all demon spawn!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to go back and turn 'em all into wingless flies in a frog pond.
Shoot, I have enough baggage WITHOUT a divorce, Meg! I remember my fourth grade math teacher, Mrs. Eubanks. Brrrr.... *shudders*
ReplyDeleteI've thought about taking a road trip to 'Nowhere' OK, Susan, but I'd be visiting the cemetary.
ReplyDeleteWow, Cyndi, I never thought of it that way. I know the hubster had a few issues, but his baggage concerned his past roommates.
ReplyDeleteIt's no wonder you write what you do, Edie. You are such a compassionate person to have that memory still bother you, but it makes me wonder what the teacher got out of it. Did she feel empowered by degrading a child?? It makes me wonder.
ReplyDeleteHow awful, Ash! I hope your daughter is collecting money to get a page in the yearbook. That child deserves to be remembered.
ReplyDeleteAnd for a gal who has some serious baggage in her background, you are an inspiration! Proving once again that only YOU are responsible for your own happiness!
Too funny!
ReplyDeleteHm, Jody, I wonder what the demon spawns on your FB would think of that analogy! :-)
Actually, she thought about raising money for it, but we just paid for it. Sorry suckers. I guess you get how unhappy I am with those people! HA!
ReplyDeleteAww, and thanks so much for that. Crap, I think I'm gonna cry again. I've been doing that a lot lately. *sniffs*
Don't worry, Margie, I didn't 'friend' any of the DS on FB.
ReplyDelete{{{{HUGS}}}} Ash.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Jody. Ya know the DS probably would be sending all sorts of super poke, Farmville, Hearts and other crapola.. . wait a minute.
ReplyDeleteI DO THAT! *Snort*
I've managed to block most applications and have warned everybody that if they send me that crap I'll de-friend them in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteSo watch yourself, Missy! :)
I've heard FB has a new app that allows ONLY your game buddies to see those types of posts. I'm trying to figure it out, so no one else has to see the extraneous game stuff.
ReplyDelete