Girls were teacher’s pets. And sissies.
We had one male homosexual in my class.
He was sexually active in the 2nd grade.
Seduced most of his classmates. Or tried.
He later died of AIDS. He had a tomboy sister
and a brother who played for the St. Louis Browns
at a time when they had a one-armed outfielder.
The schools were segregated, so we didn’t know
any colored kids, socially. We played with some
black kids on the athletic field between colored town
and white town after school. Grab-ass football.
Basketball. Baseball. They roller-skated and flew kites.
Marbles in season. Yo-yos. They didn’t come home with us
after school. They weren’t invited to our birthday parties.
They had a band that played at their football games, and black
cheerleaders. After integration, Homecoming Queen was a problem.
The captain of the football team. I think of Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd
in The Last Picture Show. I don’t think of Moms Mabley and Sonny Liston.
Flip
a woman in
gave him the evil eye. He kept on walking.