To Develop: Blog 365 Day 45 – A Dirty Goose in a Chicken Coop
By Jiddoe S'Phatt
Warmest greetings! My name is Jiddoe S’Phatt. Welcome to day
45 of “To Develop: Blog 365”.
Inspiration to write comes from a number of places. For this
blog I’ve been inspired by hip-hop artist Rick Chyme and producer
David K. Manley of Man@Work Productions. Through a collaborative project
titled #DailyPieces365
these two artists will release a new song every day for 365 consecutive days!
Their impressive dedication has motivated me to write a new blog every day of
2018.
A little piece of me goes into each entry I write. I hope
you enjoy this one!
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My basement is a warehouse of memories. Taped-up cardboard boxes
line its cold walls. Inside each of them are keys to the time machine.
A few of the boxes are purposely stored on top of these
piles for easy access. One in particular contains report cards, art projects,
spelling tests, and other remnants from my time in kindergarten and 1st
grade.
My kindergarten class photo means more to me now than ever
before because my teacher, Mrs. Susan Leatzow, passed away in February of 2016.
I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately.
I learned about Mrs. Leatzow’s passing the day after her
funeral. Had I known, I would have certainly attended to pay my respect. I
remember her being very nurturing and somewhat protective of me. I was 1 of very
few Black children in a Lutheran private school. It was like being a dirty goose
in a chicken coop. People looked at me as though I was about to lay anything
but a golden egg. Some probably expected a crispy fried one.
Though many at the school, mostly other parents, weren’t
thrilled to have me among the attendees, Mrs. Leatzow made me feel welcomed.
She didn’t treat me like “the Black Kid”.
She was still the kindergarten teacher there when I returned
in 8th grade. She was first in line to greet me. Sadly, I never got
to say goodbye.
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