Marion Brothers

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Thursday, September 6, 2007

Grandpa Day at School could be Freaky Experience

Tomorrow is a very important day for me. It’s Grandparent Day in the Crowley ISD.

Yep! Grandpa is on the hook.

I will be with my first grade granddaughter, Dee Dee, during the first lunch period, and with my second grade grandson, Little Ed, during the second lunch break. As you can see, this is a first for me.

How in the world did Eddie Griffin survive long enough to become a grandpa? A bank robbing Black Panther, kidnapper who cheated death in the electric chair, who cheated death in prison in hand-to-hand combat, only to survive another day?

I think I’m going to cry on Grandparent Day, and none of the teachers will know why. I only hope the kids will understand.

You see, my grandkids are by mix marriage, but they look more white than black. Lately, Dee Dee has been letting all the Negro come out of her. So, Grandparent Day will be the day that grandpa meets little Dee Dee’s teacher.

I have already instructed Dee Dee to apologize to the teacher. But she has a terrible speech impediment. Even I can barely comprehend her and she is six years old. All four grandkids have the same speech problem and all are supposed to be in speech therapy… the damages caused by boom box parents that love blast their babies’ ears with loud vibrating music… damaged eardrums… damaged babies… frustrated babies… imagine “crack babies” coming of age.

The Crowley ISD was once a predominantly white school district. More and more, it’s becoming interracial.

When my son went to school here in 1990s, I was one of the few black parents in the PTA. With more integration came “white flight”, depreciating property value, and lower income residents and renters.

My daughter-in-law is a white welfare mom, struggling to raise three children, after divorcing my son while he was in prison… tough life… tough consequences. But grandpa is grandpa, and grandpa doesn’t play the race card, hate card, or political card. Grandpa loves his babies. Damn the mama and the daddy for their sins.

Okay, Grandpa is nervous about his first day of grandparent school. Some kids are going to freak when they find out my grandchildren are not white. The teacher is going to freak when my grandson boast about my being a Black Panther bank robber and kidnapper, who took a police squad car. Damn! I think grandpa might panic. Y’all pray for grandpa.

4 comments:

  1. Have fun, Grandpa... and just try to enjoy the Blessing of observing the education of your grandchildren.

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  2. Hej Grandpa Eddie, what a touching story that hasn't even happened yet! I can't wait to find out how it went at school for the three of you. No kid could have a better Grandpa. As Plez says, "just try to enjoy the Blessing of observing the education of your grandchildren."

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  3. Thanks for all the well-wishing. Everything went well. None of my fears came true. Being a grandpa is no different than being a papa, and elementary school children are still children just the same. There is no race nor color line. As for the grandparents, most of us appeared harried, gray, wrinkled, and too tired to return to Egypt.

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  4. One of my children has a black grandpa, only he goes by "Opa" because his late wife was a white German woman, "Oma".

    My son loves his Opa, who is as black in every way as is possible, from the color of his skin to the stereotyped behaviors he indulges in - he jokes with me about this too:) But he also loves my son, and me too, and that is what really matters.

    I hope you enjoyed Grandparents Day with the little ones.

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