My father works outside constantly during the summer; he relishes the sun and the heat. As a result, he gets very tan during the summer and my mom always says, “Goodness, Bill, you’re almost turning black!” I understand this figure of speech now, but when I was in first grade, I took it literally.
One day during Mrs. Ball’s class we somehow got on the topic of the Civil War and slavery. As Mrs. Ball tried to explain what slavery was to us in the most delicate way possible, I remembered my mother’s comment and shouted, “My daddy’s black!” Mrs. Ball just looked down me, a very blonde blue eyed little girl, and nodded her head. She murmured, “Mmmhhhmmmmm” and resumed her lesson. Sure enough, Mrs. Ball found out for herself at the next parent-teacher conference that I might have been confused.
by Siri McGuire
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