FOLLOW THE TREND
The Story of a Life and Observations from Living ItBy James R. BoydAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 James R. Boyd
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4520-8412-1Contents
Preface............................................................................ixChapter 1 – Growing Up in Leesville..........................................1Chapter 2 – My Dad...........................................................11Chapter 3 – Serving in the Air Force.........................................17Part 1 – Stateside Duty......................................................17Part 2 – My Tour of Duty in Japan............................................31Chapter 4 – Florida A & M University.........................................55Chapter 5 – Life in Philadelphia.............................................65Chapter 6 – A Previous Marriage..............................................79Chapter 7 – My Marriage to Anne..............................................89Chapter 8 – Graduate School..................................................133Chapter 9 – Special Programs.................................................143Part 1 – Running an Alternative School.......................................143Part 2 – Extra-Curricular Activities.........................................157Chapter 10 – A New Era in Politics/My Political Opinions.....................159Chapter 11 – Trends in the Media.............................................193Chapter 12 – On Th inking for Yourself2......................................31Chapter 13 – An Evening with Gordon Parks....................................265Conclusion.........................................................................273
Chapter One
GROWING UP IN LEESVILLE
I was born and raised in a small town in South Carolina, Leesville, population approximately 10,000, about 30 miles south of Columbia. At the time I was born, 1931, America had sunk into the Great Depression. While the conditions created by this severe economic downturn affected my hometown as they did the entire country, years passed before I was aware of any of this. As a child, I did not know how poor we were, because we lived on a farm and always had a plentiful supply of food-chickens, hogs, a cow, and gardens where we grew a large variety of vegetables. Later, when I was about ten years old, Dad gave up farming and got a regular job.
By the time I was twelve years old, I had experienced many aspects of farming, such as picking cotton, feeding the animals, growing and shucking corn, planting and harvesting peanuts, and dealing with fruit trees. By age fourteen, I had probably shaken and collected pecans from almost every pecan tree in Leesville. Also, when I was fourteen, I learned a trade which has kept me secure forever. I learned how to press clothes in the local dry cleaners in Leesville. I really became a very good presser because I took the work as a form of art. Later, I worked as a presser in several cities– Miami, Washington, D C, and Philadelphia. Because of that training, gained when I was a teenager, I was never afraid to go into any city and look for employment.
Growing up in Leesville was a beautiful experience. There were 9 children in my family–6 girls and 3 boys. We were a tightly-knit family. Dad and Mom were very close, hard-working, and in church every Sunday. They would occasionally visit a church other than our own. Everyone within a twenty-five mile radius knew of Dad's ability to lead a church choir. Whenever he walked into a church, the minister or the deacon would call him up front and ask him to lead the choir. I was always so proud to listen and to watch him operate. Mom was always at his side.
As a young teenager, I did some things that most people would not believe today. I learned to swim with water moccasins in a place we called Bar's Pond. At times, I would dive into the water and see a snake slithering in from the other side of the pond. I've always been fascinated by snakes, but I became somewhat afraid of them as I grew older. Most of the older people told me that snakes could not strike in water. Dad and Mom never said that to me, but they did not know the many dangerous things I did. I was a typically stupid country kid who had no sense of the danger of the many activities in which I became involved. Two examples: riding a bicycle backwards and skating on roller skates backwards just for the hell of it.
As a student, I was sometimes devilish and a little sneaky in class. I would make strange faces at my buddy who did not have a lot of self-control. He would laugh and get in trouble.
When the teacher asked, "What's the matter?" I would turn and look at him with a slight frown, as if to say, "What's wrong with you?" I really was not trying to get my buddy in trouble, but I was aware that I was basically responsible for the situation.
I had to maintain a certain amount of coolness, though, because I had two sisters who were teachers in other schools and we know that in small towns everybody knows everything. Also, my grandmother lived only two blocks from the school; she knew exactly what was going on there. If anything had happened, if I had gotten into any kind of trouble, my mother would have known about it before I got home from school.
Taking part in the athletic programs was fun for me. I played baseball, basketball, and football. At different times, as a member of the baseball team, I played each of the bases, all field positions, and pitched. I was the center on our basketball team, partially because by then I was six feet tall, but also because I could maneuver with the best of them. We had a football team only after our new school was built in the nearby town of Batesburg. I was a senior that year, and played right tackle on the team. I remember that we used some second-hand uniforms given to us by a nearby school and our games were played on a field that belonged to a white school. Our homecoming game that year was played on a field without grass, so we ended up with muddy uniforms that day. It had rained a few hours before the game. That was a terrible homecoming day for all of us. In addition to being covered with mud, we also lost the game.
One thing that amazes me today is that even back in the 40's and 50's when I was attending and graduating from high school, my subjects included physics, geometry, biology, French, algebra, trigonometry, and economics. This was a typical curriculum in many southern high schools during the 40's and 50's. I became a teacher of science and math in 1963. Of the school curricula I have personally observed, I have yet to see a public high school curriculum in any school system comparable to what I had in my little country hometown so many years ago. This is an amazing tragedy for the graduates of these schools. This tragedy will continue as long as we allow people in powerful positions to control educational systems when their only concern is political.
When I was a 9th grade student, my principal was also my math teacher. He would sit at his desk and ask me to go to the blackboard and work math problems and explain the work to the class. I suppose at the time I considered that to be an honor. But when I think about those days, I realize I was really performing the teacher's duties and was not being paid anything. Maybe my teacher foresaw that I was to become a math teacher. Anyway, I enjoyed those days. The principal was a great guy and students and parents both loved him.
I suppose in every city and town there are always little cliques and everyone has a certain name–what we used to call "nick names." Mine was "RAWHIDE." I guess that name was chosen by the group because they knew that I had performed a few crazy acts. I was never considered a troublemaker, but even the principal called me a "roughneck." I am not trying to give the impression of being "macho." Anyone who knows me would not believe that anyway. I suppose that I was just exploring life. I was often willing to try things that I had not tried before, which is why my dad allowed me to do some minor carpentry work on our house while I was rather young. Anyway, "roughneck" or not, I seldom got into trouble for the reasons stated earlier.
My grandfather, my mother's father, had a large farm. You name it, he raised it. During the spring and early summer I could hardly wait until school ended so I could get on my bike and ride to his farm, about three miles away. I knew I was going to have an interesting and fun time while I was there. There are a few things I still think about. He grew some of the largest watermelons I've ever seen. Often when he was not around, I would clench a fist and drive it into the center of a big melon and eat the juicy, red center part which he called the "heart." He also built a contraption in the back of his house for processing sugar cane. It had a vertical pole and a horizontal pole; there was some kind of gear where the two poles were connected. He would hitch a mule to the horizontal pole and the mule would walk in a circle. We would stick sugar cane into the gear and the sweet sugar cane syrup would begin to flow into a wooden barrel. It was stored in metal gallon containers and it was the best syrup I've ever had.
After the death of my grandmother, my granddad remarried–a nice fat lady known as Cud'n Ida, who was a good cook. I think that was Granddad's main concern because he worked his farm from sunup until sundown, and needed to have his meals ready when he got in from the fields. I also thought she was a good cook until one day I was having dinner with them, and while eating a slice of sweet potato pie, I discovered a big fat fly headed to my mouth. From that day on, at their house, I stuck with syrup and cornbread.
Unfortunately, after all his hard work, my granddad died from old age as a poor man. He ended up having to live with mom for a short period of time. Finally, they found a little house in the country which is where he wanted to live. Years before, when Mom was a young teenager, and before she and Dad were married, Granddad made lots of money from his farm. As I mentioned before, you name it, he raised it. He sold his products at markets and in the communities. Everyone knew that his products were always good and dependable. I was told by my mom and other members of the family that before she and Dad were married my granddad had given her a horse and buggy. She was also enrolled in an academy in Aiken, S.C. I was told that after Granddad had purchased a trunk and filled it with clothes for the school year, she and Dad decided to elope. The rest is history, 6 girls and 3 boys later.
In addition to being close and hard-working, we were an education-minded family. Even today, I find it amazing because our parents did not constantly tell us that we had to get an education. They did and said things to let us know that if we had any desire to be successful in life, education was the only way. Six of the nine of us earned college degrees. Three of the six earned master's degrees, and have done additional studying.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention something about my dating days when I was a teenager. It is important to mention this because sometimes an omission, even unintentional, will open the gate for some people to formulate ridiculous and fallacious conclusions. Often in the past, women have been one of my weaknesses. When I was a young teenager, I spent a lot of time thinking of the ideal wife I wanted to marry someday. I guess most teenagers experience the same dreams and ideals when thinking of marriage and a family. As far as my marriage is concerned today, I feel my dreams have been fulfilled.
During my teenage years, I had my share of dates and girlfriends. But most of the girls in 11th and 12th grades, whose parents would allow them to go out on dates, were especially interested in the young boys who had dropped out of school and gotten pretty good work. These boys could buy nice cars, mostly Fords and Chevys. They would drive around town and the neighborhoods in their shiny cars with whitewall tires. They were always well-dressed and usually nice and polite to everyone. These were the guys who got most of the girls, especially on Sunday after church.
I did not worry about this too much, because I knew that if I went ahead and got a good education all of these things and more would come to me. Personally, I have not been proven wrong. I was aware of the things that happened to my brother, Leroy, after he got his education. Upon completing high school, he was called into the army. Leroy is six years older than I am. When I was 14, he was, of course 20, and had been half-way around the world. He was discharged in 1945, spent one year in Waterbury, Connecticut, then returned to Leesville and enrolled in the freshman class at Allen University. Leroy graduated in 1950, married a beautiful lady who was also a college graduate, originally from Charleston, S.C. They decided to settle in Charleston, began teaching careers, started a family, and built a home. By the time Leroy was 28 or 29, he had become an assistant principal in Charleston. A few years later, he became a principal there.
If I were to go into the many experiences I had with employment, I could fill the pages of this book. However, I would like to mention one experience I had at the age of 15. During the summer that year, I worked in a factory making DDT, a very poisonous compound used by farmers to kill insects at that time. I wore a mask for 8 hours, and I learned later how dangerous the job was. But that particular summer I was unaware of the possible danger, and I was making more money than Dad.
Many years later, during the summer of 1981, there was a high school reunion in Leesville. I really enjoyed seeing and socializing with many of my classmates and friends from high school. I spent two days there living in the old family home. Though no one lives there now, and the house is liveable, it could use a lot of work. To the extent that it is in reasonable shape, we give thanks to my sister, Ruby. She looks over the property, and with the help of her son and daughter, has kept the place liveable for those of us who occasionally go home to visit family and friends. Ruby is also a retired teacher who was always referred to as the brain in the family. If she did not make all A's in school, she was somewhat disappointed in herself.
Anyway, during the week of the class reunion, a distant cousin came by to visit. We had a long conversation and he told me how he regretted not graduating. He was a good guy. Unfortunately, he was also one of the boys who dropped out of high school, got a job, bought a beautiful car, and on Sundays rode around with the young ladies. He said he had worked for an air conditioning business in New York for many years, but had recently been laid off. In a way, his was a blueprint of the futures experienced by many of those who had dropped out of school in Leesville decades before.
My youngest brother hated school with a passion. On the day Dad took him to school for the first time, he was returning home and happened to look around. My brother was walking along behind him. Dad returned him to school, but my brother left early and returned home anyway. I think he got a little lashing on that day. Dad was a disciplinarian, but not to any extreme. And that was only with the boys. He left the girls to Mom. Sometimes she would ask him to talk to them. I don't ever recall his being harsh with the girls. Herman completed 8th or 9th grade. For many years, he was gainfully employed in Leesville. He was such a good, hard worker and was very much in demand when many of the businesses found out that in addition to being a hard worker he was also polite and honest.
Later an older cousin asked Herman to come to West Palm Beach, Florida to work in a resort. During this time resorts were only for wealthy white folks. You were lucky to get a job in that kind of place. The salary was good and so were the tips if the white folks liked you. During the summer, Herman was transferred to Poughkeepsie, NY. He made good money, owned a car and wore nice clothes. He became ill in the late 70's and all of the family came to his rescue until he was able to return to work. I think he is very much aware that if he had stayed in school, maybe his life might have gone a little smoother.
As I mentioned earlier, when I became a 12th grade student, I attended a school which had just been built in Batesburg. Batesburg was our twin city just two miles away from Leesville. The school was built for black students only, because in 1950, we could not attend white schools. In order to get to our school, we had to bypass the white school, which was located exactly halfway between Leesville and Batesburg. Ours was a spectacular building with a large, beautiful auditorium. We did not have a gym, so naturally the basketball court was outside.
I remember inviting my high school sweetheart to our prom. She did not live in our town, but instead lived about 10 miles south of Batesburg. At the time, she was in 11th grade and we had not been dating very long, so her family did not really know me. Her entire family was very intelligent and believed that education was the only way. Unfortunately, she could not attend the prom because her family would not approve of her going to a prom with someone they hardly knew. Her sister was a teacher who was married to a principal. They did not realize at the time that they both knew my sister Beatrice, who was also a teacher, because they did not all work at the same school. Beatrice was an elementary teacher in Batesburg where I completed 12th grade. I was told shortly thereafter that if the family had known she was my sister they would have permitted my date to attend the prom. I never held anything against the family. My sweetheart's father had died a few years before and they were being very protective of her. Anyway, our relationship continued and we all got along swell. I'll have much more to say about our relationship in a later chapter.
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Excerpted from FOLLOW THE TRENDby James R. Boyd Copyright © 2010 by James R. Boyd. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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