The Next Move.

I finished my freshman year of high school on May 19, 1975. Then my mom told me we were moving again. I could not even speak. I felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest. The school where I made so many friends, and set track records as a freshman, and finally earned respect for the first time in my life. And now, I am just supposed to leave it all behind.

So, on June 1, 1975, we moved to another city about 50 miles North of where we lived. My mom’s parents lived in this town, and she grew up here. I enjoyed visiting my grandparents, but I did not want to live in this town.

We were poor, so we had to live on the poor side of town, and it was named Box Town. It was called that because of the railroad that ran on that side of town. In the 1930s hobos would ride the railroad and they would sleep in the rail cars parked in town, so they called it Box Town.

I did not realize how important that was going to be in my life at that time, but I soon found out. I started my sophomore year of high school on September 7, 1975 at a different high school and I hated every minute of it. I told my mom after three days that I was going to quit school and go to California. She fought back, and persuaded me not to do that. So, I went back to school. Thank God. I was always glad I did graduate. However, I decided right then that I was going to hate every day at that school. Can you imagine being 16 and hating the whole world?

So, I started school with the biggest chip on my shoulder and I dared anyone to knock it off. Well, that did not take long. At the end of October near Halloween, I was walking into school that morning and there were always football players standing near the wall lockers in that part of the school in the morning. I always watched them mess with the mentally challenged kids who had a room in that part of the building. They would come up behind these kids and knock their books out of their hands and laugh about it. That used to burn me up. I have always been one who pulls for the underdog.

Well, the following day, I came walking in the building and it was very cold outside, and my ears were red and hurt from the cold. So, one of these football players came up behind me and flipped my ear. Without hesitation, without any care in the world, I swung around and hit that kid with a left hook so hard it knocked him clear across the room and he fell next to a wall locker. I walked over to the rest of them standing there and I asked, “Anybody else want to try that”? It was eerily quiet. Then I said, “I will be coming through that same door tomorrow at the same time.” No one said a word. And I said, “You better leave the mentally challenged kids alone.” Again, not a word. They knew they were wrong, and I called them on it. They never messed with those kids the rest of the year. I did not get in trouble because there were no teachers around that part of the school at that time.

See, I was the new kid in town, and no one knew me. However, they learned one thing quick. Don’t mess with me. I didn't like the school. I didn't like the people. And I didn't like horse play.

Most of the kids in this town came from wealthy parents and thought they could do whatever they wanted. And if you did not have a certain last name, then you were an outcast. And I was an outcast.

One day in class, someone asked me where I lived, and I replied, I live in Box Town. Man, that room got so quiet. People all turned and looked at me like I had the plague. That was when I learned, you never tell anyone you are from Box Town. The kids that lived in Box Town told me that too. They said, “Never tell anyone you are from Box Town because they will not like you.” I said, “Why is that”? And they told me because they know you are poor, and they think we are all thugs. I didn’t like that, but that was the way things were.

So, I spent three years walking those halls without a smile on my face and without saying hello to anyone. I made sure I kept that chip on my shoulder where I could see it. I missed my friends at the other school. And I really missed my best friend that became my lifelong friend.

I did participate in sports. I played basketball and ran track four years. I played football one year. However, I was always very quiet. I made it a habit to not make any friends. I did not want to associate with people who thought money made them better than me. So, I did what I had to do to get my grades in school and graduate high school.

Most of the kids at that high school, after almost three years, did not even know where I lived because I never told them. I was too embarrassed to bring anybody to my house. I never participated in any clubs, dances, proms, or anything where I had to be sociable. I did have three girls ask me to the prom. However, I thought. How can I go to the prom? I can’t even buy a tuxedo. It was very embarrassing to be poor. People don’t understand that unless they get the “poor t-shirt.” I almost got soft a few times and thought I might like to go to the prom, but again, no money, no tuxedo. So, no prom for me.

I never even showed up when they wanted to take pictures for school, or for sports. Looking back on it now. The only photo I ever showed up for was my senior track team photo and I don’t know why I even showed up for that photo. I know I made things hard on myself, but I didn’t care. That did not make me a bad person. I was just in a place that I didn’t want to be, and I could not do anything about it.

So, midway through my senior year of high school, I went down to the Army Recruiter and joined the U.S. Army without even telling my mom. I joined on what was called the Delayed Entry Program (DEP). You could join the Army, but you did not have to go until you finished your senior year of high school.

I graduated high school on May 14, 1978, and on May 25, 1978, I was on a bus to Fort Dix, New Jersey, to start my adult life in the military. I stayed three years in the Army and went to Fort Hood, Texas, and West Germany and France. I made Sergeant and then got out and went to find myself.

Later, I joined the U.S. Coast Guard and stayed for more than 24 years and retired as a Coast Guard Officer. I also went to college and got a degree to educate myself as well.

Looking back on it now. I wished I had been able to do more things in high school. I wished I could have participated more, but money was always the reason I didn’t. And today, I am a different person. I still keep to myself. I don’t bother my neighbors, and I don’t intrude upon people. And the world is different today too. People are different as well. Everyone today seems so sensitive about everything! I was social distancing before that ever became a thing. And today, I am glad I do that too.

I do know one thing though. I am not poor as I once was, and I don’t ever want to be that poor again. I got the t-shirt. I do try and help people that are poor if they need it. And I feel for them. I don’t ever judge a person because they are poor. I know that does not define a person. I know that part of my life has made me appreciate what I do have in life. And I know I am a better person because I was once poor.