Page 15 - The Crown 2015-2017

56. You might look up one day and see your mother or your parents walking
into the school to get you and not the teacher. Yes, they came to high
school and would pull us out of class because we had embarrassed them
and the name.

57. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

58. We ate mayonnaise sandwiches. Bologna sandwiches. Ate fruit. Drank
milk. When you were hungry, you filled up on water. And did not
complain.

59. Now, now, now, in 2010:

60. It is the best of times. It is the worst of times.

61. Teenagers dress like they are on their way to a party every day. Can’t
pull the skirt down, because there is not enough to pull down.

62. Some young ladies don’t even own a dress. And get insulted when you
tell them that the appropriate attire is a black dress or a white dress.

63. Many young men don’t own a suit. Don’t talk about wearing a tie and
taking off the cap as a sign of respect. But the fathers must be the role
model for our young men.

64. There may not be a father in the house. But our male teachers and
preachers and community leaders can be the role model for our young
men.

65. Our mothers weren’t looking for the babies’ daddy. They knew where he
was and we knew who he was. That was not the discussion. The
discussion was I am going to call your daddy and tell him what you did—
how you are acting—that you need some money.

66. Grandparents helped to raise you. You went to the country for the
summer—not to New York or on a cruise. You learned how to feed the
chickens, hang out the clothes, take in the clothes, fold them and put
them up.

67. You played outside all day. You came in to do homework, to eat and to
go to sleep. You knew insects. Sometime you played with them. Used
the commode in the outhouse. Bathed in a washtub.

68. You got up early on Saturday morning and everybody in the house had
chores to do before you went outside to play.

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