Off from the Races

Bullying seems to be not just a buzz word but something we here in the USA hear more & more about. People are put down for looks, sexual orientation, race etc.

How about we, you and I find that good in people?  Look beyond color, age, body size and those labels that come so easy.  Sure as little kids playing we seldom cared about who we played with at first: it took time to actually SEE differences

I admit that I grew up in a homogeneous environment. Mostly white families on tree lined streets.  My very first encounter with a Hispanic man was  Carlos L from Columbia. We were in second grade home room and thankfully lived exactly 8 houses away on the same block.  Oh the great smells of home cooking from  that house still linger in my mind.  Carlos and I became instant friends since we both were the same age and lived on the same street.

He ate at my families house as often as I did his.  We didn't care that he wasn't white like me or nor I as brown as he. We were just kids on the block

When was it I first heard the word "Spic?"  Who cares since Carlos wasn't "one of them," he was a friend.

In junior high school I met more kids of different races.  High school was more, much more diversified.  I'm thankful my own Boy Scout Troop wasn't all guys like me. Besides Carlos, I met Randy, Tyrone and others. We all wore the same khaki uniform.

I do my best to look beyond labels on people.  A race, a back ground, an age or ability is not how i see others.  I see the people who seem to be new to the USA on my block now and I wave "Hi" as I ride my bike past them on the way to work.

This mostly Haitian neighborhood is OURS and I'm not racing through it