Believe me when I say a change is gonna come!
By Cheryl Smith
I went home to reunite with classmates, friends, mere acquaintances and other schoolmates – some I hadn’t seen in half a century. It was great!
No, my body was not back into the clothes I wore when I was 18. I wasn’t a zillionaire with a husband of 40 years, or had enough children to make a softball team and grandchildren to fill a WNBA and NBA bench. I haven’t written 15 best sellers, or developed a cure for Sickle Cell Anemia, cancer, Lupus, AIDS, or obesity.
No, as hard as I tried, I’ve been unable to cure the world of hate, violence, or any of the isms (racism, sexism, ageism, et.al) that destroy the quality of life for all.
My home, East Orange is a special place and I was born right down the street in Newark, as was other notables like Shaq, Queen Latifah, Cissy Houston, Melba Moore, Jerry Lewis, Bill Bellamy, Naturi Naughton, Paul Simon, Sarah Vaughn, John Amos, Faith Evans, Connie Francis, Fugees, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Joe Pesci, Whitney Houston, Sen Cory Booker, Ed Koch, Cong. Donald Payne, Marvin Hagler, Renaldo Nehemiah, Taurean Blacque, and so many others.
Still much to my surprise my class celebrated Cheryl Smith, along with Steve Washington (founder of the group Slave), Dr. Duane Smith (no relation) and HIV/AIDS advocate Darlene Roberts for our significant contributions.
Side note – Steven transitioned earlier this year and as we were arriving for the reunion there was a family of my classmate Julie Griffin, that was preparing for her home going celebration. She joined 82 other known members of our class who were now our angels.
I had fun growing up, even though we lived right in the center of riots, and school boycotts. My memory of my childhood includes a village that I appreciate even more today. I still think fondly of my homeroom teacher, Mr. Green and my Home Economics/Sewing teacher, Mrs. Frances Hill, and who didn’t love Coach Robert Lester who led our basketball team to a number one state championship and Number 6th ranking in the country!
Who knew that my serving as statistician for that championship game would lead me to four years as statistician for Florida A&M’s men’s basketball team?
I have to tell you I really enjoyed being back in New Jersey.
The first thing I wanted to do was eat all of the foods that I have been missing. I started with some Caribbean food in downtown Newark, then we stopped by one of my favorites, Sandwiches Unlimited on Central Avenue, then Jimmy Buffs, to get Italian hotdogs or steaks or just one of the best sandwiches ever.
Next day, we decided to go shopping because guess what in New Jersey you don’t have to pay taxes on clothes you buy so if the dress comes to $99 you get a penny back!
That penny, went toward the Chinese food and nice hot slices of pizza that we ate, to hold over to the banquet that night.
And to top it off, my girl I’ve known since eighth grade Patrice, my bestest, got me a bean pie.
I know what you’re thinking. We’re only on day three.
The next day there was a spontaneous brunch, but we didn’t make it there. Instead we went to a Halal restaurant for some good old whiting.
It was time for a break, and there were so many people I needed to see in Jersey, I opted to go see my mother‘s baby brother, one of my faves, my Uncle Eddie.
At 85 he was still going strong, and he was the last of five boys and four girls and I needed to see him to really feel at home.
It was especially nice to run into three classmates who I had fond memories of, and we connected as sorors, members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. — Pamela Robinson, Tammy Allen, Renee Coleman and me.
One thing for sure, when you come back after so many years away, you can put a different spin on things, you can also have a different perspective about life going forward. You can really understand and appreciate life better.
Makes you wish you could’ve had lessons a lot sooner.
Unfortunately as much fun as it was doing it, although I didn’t get to White Castle, the over eating has taken a toll on me; upon arriving back in Dallas, Texas I haven’t been out of the house in three days!
So I have to dispute some of my classmates’ assertions because my body can’t handle all of that like it did back in the day.
It appears I did change, and it appears for the better!
