This story is about a group of neighborhood kids growing up, and how they experience different problems and episodes in their lives.

The story takes place on Detroit's Westside in an area known as the Boston/Edison Historic District.

It was a nice summer day when the old brown Ford station wagon filled with the Gray family pulled up in front of the big house that stood on the corner of Edison and Third.

Mr. and Mrs. Gray with their five kids piled out of the station wagon. The kids excitedly ran up to the door of their new home. Mr. Gray led Mrs. Gray to the door, but before he could open the door even half-way, the kids burst through running in all directions. That is, everyone but ten year old Tyra.

Mrs. Gray could tell that Tyra wasn't too happy about leaving her friends and starting over in a new neighborhood and school, so she sat Tyra down on the porch to have a mother to daughter talk. Mrs. Gray was pretty good when it came down to talking with her children.

"What's wrong" Mrs. Gray asked Tyra? "Nothing", said Tyra. "Yes there is, I know you're going to miss your old friends, aren't you?" Mrs. Gray asked.

Tyra didn't say anything. "You'll see them again" said mom. Tyra said sadly, "Trudy said that I was moving too far away and would never see her again." Mom said, "Well guess what? Trudy doesn't know what she's talking about, because this weekend we're going to surprise her when we drive over to the old neighborhood to pick her and a few more of your friends up to have a sleep over."

Tyra's face lit up. She asked "They can come over here ma?" Mrs. Gray said "All we have to do is go and get them." "That's right ma, I wasn't thinking about that." Mom said, "I know. So the next time you get sad and worried about something you'll talk to me right?" Tyra smiled and said, "Ok ma." Mrs. Gray said "Come on, let's go in the house and see your new bed room."

A year has passed and the kids are well off into school. Eight year old Ronny, Tyra, and their little Six year old brother Calvin went to the same elementary school. Fourteen year old Tony and twelve year old Cherry went to middle school.

One day on the way home from school Ronny, Calvin, Tyra and a few other kids took the short cut through the alley. Suddenly Calvin sees a big pile of trash move. Calvin said "Something's in that pile of garbage over there." Their friend, Nine year old Kenny, said "That's not Garbage; that's Rag pile." "Rag pile?" Said Ronny and Tyra. "Yeah, he's the neighborhood bum. He lives there in those pile of rags." "Why does he live in the alley?" Tyra asked. Kenny said, "Because he's crazy, never talks, and doesn't have a real home."

Some other kids were coming down the alley and started laughing and throwing trash at the pile of rags. Kenny started laughing. Ronny said, "Man that's not funny." Kenny said "They're always doing that to him." Ronny said "So. My dad always says when you see somebody doing something wrong you better get away from them. You don't do it just because they did it."

Ronny felt sorry for Rag pile, and from that day on he always gave the man in the pile of rags whatever he had left over from his lunch. One day after school Ronny's mom noticed that something had been bothering him.

"What's wrong Ronny?" Ronny said "Nothing." "I'm your mom and I know when something's wrong so come on tell me" his mother said. Ronny said "It's this boy at school who's always teasing me." "Just don't pay him any attention" said Ronny's mom. "Words can't hurt you. You just do your school work." Ronny's father told him the same thing.

The boy kept teasing Ronny, and the teasing turned into touching, then bullying, and that made Ronny want to stop going to school.

What should Ronny do?

A. Get someone to beat the boy up?

B. Tell someone like an adult or teacher?

C. C. Not go to school?

D. D. Get his big brother Tony?

Explanation: The first thing Ronny should do is go to his parents, and if he doesn't have that kind of relationship with his parents then he should find some other adult like an aunt, uncle or teacher.

Sometimes moms and dads can make the mistake of not paying enough attention. Or don't take things as serious as they should. Maybe something else could be on their mind, so don't give up on them. If they don't take things serious enough then go to a teacher or principal, but be sure to let the parents know that you had to go to a teacher, and that things could have really turned bad. I'm sure that the parents will realize that things must have been more serious than they thought. Ronny could have went to his big brother Tony, but Ronny was a thinker. He knew by going to get his brother he could cause him to get into trouble, or hurt. Ronny had to make a choice between being called a snitch, or keeping his brother out of trouble, and maybe getting hurt. Never let what people say change the decisions that you make that you know are right. The ones that know you and care about you know what kind of person you are. Family should always come first.

B. is the best answer.

A boy at school, named Eric, likes Cherry. He's always trying to talk to her. Eric has a very jealous girlfriend, named Annie, who's going around school telling people that she's going to beat Cherry up and put it on Twitter. Cherry's Brother Tony found out but Cherry said that she wasn't worried about it and for him not to worry either. But Tony did worry about it. As Tony was walking home from school, taking the usual shortcut, he stopped to give Rag Pile his lunch leftovers, just like his brother Ronny did.

Tony walked over and handed Rag Pile a half of sandwich from his lunch bag. As he turned to walk away he heard a voice say, "Thank you." Tony, surprised, said "You could talk all the time!" "Yes" Rag Pile said. Tony asked "Well why don't you ever talk?" Rag Pile said he didn't enjoy talking to people nowadays, but said he could tell there was something special about Tony the first day he saw him. Tony wanted to know why Rag Pile felt that Tony was special. Rag Pile said Tony was special because of his feelings for others. Rag Pile said "We don't have enough of that nowadays, and I can tell that you feel more for others than you sometimes feel for yourself. I can also tell that something is bothering you. Would you like to tell me about it?" Tony, giving it some thought, said "Uummm, I guess so." Rag pile pushed a can out so Tony could sit down. Tony said "It's not me, it's my sister." Tony explained that the boy who liked his sister had a jealous girlfriend who saw him talking to Cherry. Now the jealous girlfriend was placing on Twittter that she wanted to come over to our house to fight Cherry. Cherry feels she can beat the girl, but doesn't want to get kicked out of school, or in trouble with our parents.

Rag Pile asked "Well, what did your parents say?" Tony said "We can't go running to our parents all of the time like a little tattel-tell. Besides, our parents will just say, you better not be out there fighting."

"I don't think so" said Rag pile, "you kids need to understand. That's part of what your parents are for, to teach you and show you how to deal with anything you don't know or understand. You have to trust them; they love you and are only going to tell you what's right. Family comes first. You have to trust them before you trust anyone else. Are you going to listen to what kids say? Or are you going to listen to family? Everything you and your sister go through your parents have already been through it. You kids think that parents are born old. At one time they were the same ages you and your sister are now. Don't listen to what kids say about what's lame or not. Or to be cool, you have to be like the other kids. What's cool is to be you. Don't be a follower; be a leader.

If you kids would just listen to your parents you'll be ahead of most of the other kids. Your parents are the best friends you'll ever have. Remember that, even when you're mad at them."

Tony smiled and said "OK, I will. Thanks Mr. By the way, what is your name?" Rag Pile said "Locktoo, and tell no one else about my talking and our discussion. This is our little secret. Tony said "Ok Mr. Locktoo", then got up and left.

What should Tony and Cherry do?

A. Take Mr. Locktoo's advice?

B. Tony should let Cherry fight it out?

C. Tell the boy who likes Cherry to talk to his girlfriend?

D. Tell the boy to not talk to Cherry?

Explanation: Kids today usually don't have a fight where it ends with the winner and loser going home. More than likely it ends up with someone getting seriously hurt or going to jail. The loser will go get his brother or friend. Then the winner goes and get his brother or friend, and on and on. Usually when others get involved weapons come into play. But the fight wasn't worth anyone getting hurt, killed, or going to jail.

On the other hand, if the parents had been told, all the parties could have met at school and put a stop to things before they got out of hand and a lot of people got into trouble or hurt. Remember that it's more important to keep your friends or love ones from getting hurt, than to worry about what people would say.

A. Is the best answer.

The next day Mrs. Gray came to school with Tony and Cherry. Eric, who likes Cherry, was told to leave her alone, and Eric's parents told him to leave his girlfriend alone. Annie's parents punished her.

One day Tony hadn't seen Cherry in school. They walked to school together as always and he'd usually see her between classes and in the hallway. He saw her friend Sadie in the lunchroom and asked her if she'd seen Cherry. Sadie said "I saw her and a few other girls leave out of school. They probably went out for lunch." But Tony didn't think so.

What should Tony do?

A. Call his parents?

B. Go find her and hang out with her?

C. Try and find out where she went and try to get her to come back to school?

D. Say nothing?

Explanation: First Tony should try and find out where his sister went without having to leave school himself. If he finds out where she is, and she's not where she's supposed to be, this is where tough love comes in. He should try and get a phone call to his parents. The love for his sister should always mean more than his sister getting mad at him. She just had a problem with the girl Annie. Tony is right for looking out for his sister. That's what family should be about; looking out for each other.

A. and C. are the best answers.

Cherry is skipping school with a few friends of hers, going to smoke weed, drink, and dance.

One of the girls gave the weed to Cherry saying, "Here Cherry roll the weed for us." Cherry had never smoked weed or cigarettes before but didn't want her friends to know. The other girls were off dancing when her friend Donna walked over to her and said. "Give me that weed; you don't know what you're doing. Just because they smoke weed doesn't mean you have to. Just say you don't smoke, you'll still be cool with me."

What should Cherry do?

A. Learn how to roll and smoke the weed?

B. Let Donna do the rolling and just to take one puff?

C. Stop being a follower.

D. Leave and go back to school?

Explanation: Cherry learned an important lesson that day. That she didn't have to do something just because everyone else was doing it. And the best way to be cool is to be you. Cherry left and went back to school. People will usually respect the person strong enough not to follow those doing wrong, even if they don't say it. Never be afraid to say no.

C. and D. are the best answers.

Later that day after school Tony saw Tyra and Calvin, and asked them if they knew where Ronny was. Calvin told Tony that Ronny was with Kenny and the others they hang with, but Ronny had left them and went home by himself because he was mad at them. "What For" asked Tony. Calvin said he didn't know. So Tony ran off to find Ronny.

Ronny was walking through the alley shortcut that they always took. He decided to give the cookies he had left over to Rag Pile.

He walked over to the pile of rags and said "Here sir would you like some cookies?" A hand came out from the pile of rags and Ronny placed the cookies in the hand, and then turned to walk away. "Thank you" a voice said. Ronny jumped and was ready to run but the voice in the pile said, "Wait don't run Ronny. I didn't mean to scare you." Ronny stopped and asked, "How do you know my name?" Rag Pile said, "Your brother Tony and I talk all of the time; he's a friend of mine." Ronny said "Hey, I thought you were crazy and couldn't talk." Rag Pile said "The only person I talk to is Tony, and now you. And no I'm not crazy. I knew you were Tony's little brother and you looked so sad I just had to say something. My name is Locktoo." "Locktoo? That's a funny name" said Ronny. Locktoo said "So is Ronny." They both laughed. Locktoo pushed out his paint can and invited Ronny to sit down. "Here, Locktoo said, tell me what's got you so upset?" "Nothing" said Ronny. Locktoo said "Yeah, I already know. You're usually with your little buddies and I'll bet you're mad at them. Ronny asked how Locktoo knew that. Locktoo said "Because, they're not your kind of crowd. I hear the way they talk, and sneak around smoking cigarettes. They act funny towards you don't they?" Ronny said "Yeah, they're always calling me lame and scary cat." Locktoo said "You know what Ronny? The reason you don't fit in with them and they call you names is because you're a leader. Never be afraid to say no. You're not a follower. Smoking cigarettes and saying bad words don't make you cool. Man you're the coolest cat out of all of them. You're a leader and sometimes it gets lonely at the top. Do you know what a famous person is?" Ronny asked, "Like a T.V. person or singer?" Locktoo said "Yeah, well you be the most famous person you know. Just be you, and pretty soon they'll want to be your friend. Anybody that doesn't want to be your friend shouldn't matter. They probably wish they were you because you're smart enough to stand alone and not have to be like others." Mr. Locktoo's hand came out from the pile of rags and they high fived. Everyone respects a leader. And never think that somebody is better than you. Now go on home and don't tell anybody about our little talk. You can keep a secret, can't you?" "Yeah." Said Ronny. Ronny got up, smiled, and said, "Thanks Mr. Locktoo."

What should Ronny do?

A. Stop hanging with his friends?

B. Try smoking and talking trash so everyone would think that he was cool?

C. Have a talk with someone older?

D. Pay them no mind?

Explanation: Ronny was smart to talk to someone older; he should also find new friends. The boys he hang with now are most likely to wind up trying drugs and getting into trouble. Ronny knows right from wrong. It's up to him to make the decision to find new friends and not be afraid to say no. Don't try to be what you're not. Be you. If they need someone to talk tough at or make fun of, let them find someone else.

A. and C. are the best answers.

Tony caught up to Ronny a few blocks away. "Ronny!" He yelled. Ronny stopped and waited for him. Ronny asked `Where have you been? Calvin said that you were mad at your boys. Ronny replied, "Man I don't mess with them. Come on I'll race you." He and Tony ran off.

Tyra and her friend Katy were in the same class. Some of the other kids made fun of Katy because she was so dark skinned. They would whisper and call her blackie. Sometimes Katy went home crying. Tyra would get mad and take up for her, and tell the kids to stop teasing her, but they didn't listen. Katy felt left out and started doing badly in her school work. She hated school and told her mother so. Her mom couldn't understand why a person who has always gotten good grades, and liked school so much, suddenly lost interest.

A few days later Tyra and Calvin were waiting for their friend Katy to walk home. Calvin said "Here she comes," pointing towards Katy. "Why is she crying?" asked Calvin and Tyra said "I don't know. They've probably been calling her names again." As Katy walked up to them Calvin asked, "What's wrong Katy? Why are you crying?" Katy didn't answer right away. Then she said, "Some of the kids are always laughing and whispering about me, saying that they've never seen anybody so black."

"So what, don't listen to what people say," said Calvin. "They're always doing that to her" said Tyra. "They're just stupid" Calvin said. "That's right, don't pay them any attention."

A few days later Mrs. Gray told her kids that she had gotten a call from Katy's mother, and that she was very upset about Katy suddenly not wanting to go to school. When she asked Katy what was wrong, she would always say nothing was wrong. Mrs. Gray asked, "Have any of you guys noticed anything going on with her?" No one said anything.

Later that day Calvin told Ronny about what was happening with Katy and that got Ronny to thinking. He said to himself, "I know what to do. I'll go see Mr. Locktoo." He ran to see the pile of rags in the alley.