Short Story Based on a First Memory :Life on the Other Side of the Rainbow

This memory goes back to the early seventies. When I was living and growing up as a military kid in New England. I was living in the state of New Hampshire. In the city of Portsmouth (lower Maine). My best friend Allen was white. His father was a high ranking Air Force officer and my father was a high ranking non-commissioned officer. We lived on Pease Air Force base. Allens mother was also our Cub scout Den mother. It was fun living in NH. Lots of snow. And for me being into aquatic micro-scopic flora and fauna. Lots of ponds,streams and creeks. When I was not going to school,doing my chores or playing little league base sports. But the best thing of all was the snow. Especially if you did not have to shovel or drive through it. So my first memories of snow also come from New England and New Hampshire. I still like snow (not so much the biting cold) and winter. Now I am sure you are asking what was it like for me as an African-American growing up in New England and New Hampshire? Was I ever called the "N" word that I can recall? No. Did others see me as different because I was black? No. Did my white babysitter Brenda treat me differently since I was black? No. Was she prejudice (did she pre-judge me) absolutely N-O!!! So how did I get an inferiority complex? That's a good question and I wish I were able to speak to my best friend Allen or even his brother Richie or of course my wonderful sitter Brenda.

One day I remembering asking Brenda. How I could become white. Even as a kid. I had a crush on my babysitter. She happened to be white. Later on I had a crush on my African-American babysitter, Pam. To me both were pretty girls. Getting back to Brenda. I asked her how I could become white. It just seemed to me that it was more fun and "cooler" to be white. Having blond hair and blue eyes. I kept asking Brenda how I could change my skin color and so on and be white. In light of what is happening today with America's first American of African & Hawaiian heritage and all the discussion about race. What Brenda said to me that day so long ago will stay with me for the rest of my life. She told me of course you can lighten your skin. There were ways to look white. And probably be white if a black person was really bent on wanting to be white and so on and so forth. But she explained that she was white and proud of who she was and she told me be proud of how God made you. Be proud to be black and be proud of you. Don't go changing (as the Billy Joel song laments) to be someone you aren't. Be proud of who you are. I am sure she is very good person wherever she is. And I was fortunate to have known her at that point in my life living and growing up in New England as African-American.