A story about Mom and her Oldest Son

Shortly after November 22,1963,I decided I wanted to be President of the United States. Most third and fourth graders at the time thought I was a little nuts,and especially because no black person was ever thought could ever be elected President. The one person who took my dreams seriously was my mother.
Mom never once told me my dream was impossible, though she did caution that by being black,I might have to work two or three times as hard to get to where I wanted to be. Rather than say my dream was impossible,she would advise me as to what career choices I might want to consider,and what courses I might want to take. She once encouraged me to become a lawyer,and that in high school,in order to understand the law,I should take Latin..

I think it excited my mom for me to take an interest in politics. She after all was active in the Urban League,NAACP and attended many a Board of Education meeting. She was also active in the Democratic Party. She was on a first name basis with Connecticut Senator Abraham Ribicoff. I remember once,Senator Thomas Dodd coming off the Senate floor to greet my mom when we visited the Capitol in Washington DC.

One of the things my interest did was to allow me to spend time with my mom in ways that my other brothers didn't because she could take me to the various functions she attended knowing I wouldn't be bored and ask my mom to leave within 5 minutes. Once she  took me to a cocktail party attended by Connecticut Governor Thomas Meskill and soon to be Senator Lowell Weicker.

Of course,my most memorable outing with her was attending the 1964 Democratic Platform Committee meeting where I met Dr.Martin Luther King,nearly literally ran into Robert Kennedy,and had lunch with Connecticut Secretary of State Ella Grasso who later became the nation's first woman Governor.
Being the independent sort even at a young age,I didn't completely fall in line with her politics. In 1964,she organized for the campaign of Lyndon Johnson,and his running mate,her political hero Hubert Humphrey. I informed her that for my school's mock Presidential election,I was going to vote for his opponent Republican Barry Goldwater. Furthermore,since I was the only one in the entire school voting for Goldwater which would require me to make a presentation. Mom knew it was important to make a good presentation,and though it pained her greatly,she went to Goldwater Headquarters and obtained for my presentation a Goldwater poster and a Au H20 bumper sticker.

For my tenth birthday in 1965,my mom arranged for my birthday party to be held at a Downtown Hartford Italian Restaurant known to be a hangout spot for Hartford's politicians. Hartford's Mayor,William Glynn briefly appeared to wish me a Happy Birthday. I knew for a fact that my mom and the Mayor had frequent run ins,so I found it amazing he would show up to my party. It gave one an idea of the influence my mom had in the community. No politician wanted to be on the bad side of her!
Having the birthday party at the restaurant was just the beginning. Mom saved her present to me for the end. It was in an envelope. When I opened the envelope,it contained an airline ticket(my first) to Washington DC as well as an invitation to attend the inauguration of President Lyndon Johnson. Apparently,Mom forgave me for supporting Goldwater.

No politician in Hartford wanted to be on the bad side of Mom,but her oldest son found ways to be as four years later,Mom found me volunteering for President Johnson's and later her hero Hubert Humphrey's opponent,Senator Eugene McCarthy.

That however is a different story..