A little black book is a notebook containing an individual’s contacts and their personal information. Like many phrases containing the word black, this one refers to something mysterious. People sometimes refer to a journal, or part of a journal, as their black book or little black book. Some have been known to be full of personal secrets that might be …
Author: Robert
Learning to Speak
Young Jackson James is learning to speak. He’s got an extensive vocabulary for a seventeen-month-old. Kate and Michael interact with him much like Ruth and I did with our three as they were growing up. We never used “baby talk” to speak with the kids. We held normal conversations using our adult vocabulary. Mike and …
The $25 Tomato
The following summer, Ruth, the three kids, and I planted a garden in a community plot a few miles from our house. We thought it would be a good learning experience for David, Elizabeth and Michael. The gardening project was sponsored by Jackson Community College. The college prepped the land, provided access to water, and …
My Green Thumb
Our first summer as a married couple, Ruth and I lived on Kalamazoo’s Stockbridge Avenue, and I decided to plant a garden. I’d never planted one before but thought it couldn’t be that difficult, so I dug up a ten-by-ten patch of earth behind our garage. I just turned over the soil, did my best …
The Principal of the Thing
Mr. Levens was my elementary school principal throughout my six years at Lincoln. I have no idea who the principal of Clara Barton Junior High was. We never met and that worked well for me. I had two principals during my four years at George A. Dondero High School, but again, we never met. I …
Classmates
For several years I thought this picture was taken at Whittier Elementary. Upon further examination, I realize it may not have been taken there. Some of the kids didn’t attend Whittier. They did attend Lincoln, but I’m not convinced the photo was taken there. Regardless of the location, I think it’s an end of the …
Second Grade
Mom invited my Lincoln Elementary School teachers to lunch at our house. Miss Haskell (1st), Mrs. Davies (2nd), Mrs. Steward (3rd), Mrs. Henderson (4th), Mr. Reese (5th), and Mr. Cromar (6th) took their appropriate turn. We had an hour for lunch, and we lived just a couple of blocks from school, so accepting an invitation …
Abraham Lincoln
I was among the first students to attend Abraham Lincoln Elementary School when it opened in 1953. It was built to help address the tremendous growth that post war Royal Oak experienced. I attended Whittier Elementary the year before where I was an enthusiastic Kindergarten student. All the kids in the neighborhood made the eight-tenths …
When We Don’t Understand
I had my first interaction with a transexual during the early 80’s. I was the middle school principal in Addison and a mom made an appointment with me to discuss transferring her son to our school. She came into my office and took a seat. She explained she wanted to transfer her son to Addison …
Three Steps
I’ve been thinking about my dad a lot. He lived to be seventy-nine and a half. I’m four and a half years short of his mark. Although I made a deal with my mom to live at least as long as she did, there’s no guarantee I’ll make another eighteen years. That’s the goal, but …