To Where And Back?

I do not look my age, he said immodestly -- I look somewhat younger. Nothing I did, the thanks go to Mom. With that preface out of the way, it is a fairly established fact, that, for entirely too many people, history begins the day they were born. If it came earlier, they are not interested in the slightest. Which leads me to the events of late last night/early this morning. I was standing out on my balcony -- it was way past 0200. Anyway, after awhile, a young white man passed by on his bicycle and said, "fucking nigger". Now, I have my suspicions as to why he said it -- but it doesn't matter. Now, I have to "prove a point", as it were. The world sees me as black first,  regardless of what else I have accomplished. So, while I may not fight -- I can't come in as early as I might have -- because it could seem that I was afraid or whatever. Nothing could be further from the truth. But, I was part of the group that fought against that attitude the first time i...

I do not look my age, he said immodestly -- I look somewhat younger. Nothing I did, the thanks go to Mom. With that preface out of the way, it is a fairly established fact, that, for entirely too many people, history begins the day they were born. If it came earlier, they are not interested in the slightest. Which leads me to the events of late last night/early this morning. I was standing out on my balcony -- it was way past 0200. Anyway, after awhile, a young white man passed by on his bicycle and said, "fucking nigger". Now, I have my suspicions as to why he said it -- but it doesn't matter. Now, I have to "prove a point", as it were. The world sees me as black first,  regardless of what else I have accomplished. So, while I may not fight -- I can't come in as early as I might have -- because it could seem that I was afraid or whatever. Nothing could be further from the truth. But, I was part of the group that fought against that attitude t...