When one hits 50,one begins to realize that one's lived a lot of life and has experienced a number of events that those younger will never experience. My grandfather and my mother would share stories of their experiences on December 7,1941. I could never experience it the the way they did. I can only pass their experiences down to those wishing to listen. When one approaches 60,it begins to dawn on,at least on me,that the odds are against being in this particular life form for another 50 years.
With that in mind,I'm going to begin,in not such great detail for now,how I experienced each decade of my life to date.Strangely enough,I can remember the exact years of earlier events much more vividly than those of more recent times.
There are those out there who say those early memories are the formulative ones. Maybe they are,maybe they're not.,but I'm going to start there..
I was born January 4th,1955 at Mt.Sinai Hospital in Hartford Connecticut. I am the son of Dr.Evans H.Daniels from Kansas City Missouri and Helen Louise Jones Daniels from Washington DC I am the oldest of 3 brothers. I can't say I have many memories from 1955-1961. 2 however DO come to mind. I do have a memory of being picked up from my crib as well as one of getting my diaper changed..
February of 1962,I remember getting pissed off at my brother Austin for having the audacity to come down with pnumonia when my mom and I were having such a good time watching the orbital flight of John Glenn on TV. Mom had to rush him off to the hospital,thus ending the all the fun for me.
The summer of 1962,I recall my mom,my brothers,and my grandparents loading up in my grandfather's car for a road trip from Washington DC to my grandfather's family in rural South Carolina. I would listen to my mom's and grandparent's conversations and would watch the news with them sometimes,so I had an inkling as to what what taking place in the South at that time. I'd ask "Is the Ku Klux Klan going to get me?" My grandmother's response would mostly be "Ku Klux Klan doesnt want you.",however I do recall a time when I aggravated her to the point of her saying "If you don't start behaving,I'll tell the Ku Klux Klan to come get you!"
Once in South Carolina,I remember the dirt roads and seeing my grandfather take off his shoes and walking barefoot like he did as a kid. Rode on a tractor too for the first time and saw my first snake.
There was the Fall of 1962,when my mom,grandmother and brothers gathered in front of this portable Admiral TV to listen to President Kennedy speak about nuclear missiles in Cuba,and my brother Howie asking "Are we going to Die?"
1963: A violent year. JFK is assassinated while I was in Miss Amato's third grade classroom studying math. A couple months earlier,I had been beaten by my Dad for failing math.On top of that,I was teased a lot by classmates. I felt as if I could relate to JFK because he found out what it was like to be hated. I decided then,that I was willing to be hated..and loved like JFK. Earlier in the year however,Mom,Howie,Austin and myself took our first cross country trip.First leg of the trip being with the Rowe family from Washington DC to Minneapolis where we dropped our car and the Rowe family who drove with us. Uncle Yancey as we called him,the man who never smiled was developing the zip code and had to spend time in Minneapolis. We then took the Greyhound to Yellowstone,and then to LA and Disneyland! On the return trip to Minneapolis,we made a visit to the Minnesota State Fair.
Summer of 1964,in one of the biggest days in my entire life,Mom took me to the Democratic Party Platform Committee Meetings where in one day I got a newsroom tour by NBC Correspondent Elie Abel,met Dr.Martin Luther King,was nearly run over by Robert Kennedy,and had lunch with Connecticut Secretary of State Ella Grasso,later to become the first ever woman Governor. That didn't prevent me however from,in my school's mock election from casting the only vote in the entire school for Republican Barry Goldwater. Had to be escorted home by teachers because of that vote,Earlier that year,I was escorted home for striking out with the bases loaded in the classroom championship baseball game.I knew nothing about baseball then.Teachers told my mom that maybe I should learn a little about baseball if for nothing else avoiding getting beat up. I soon afterwards began to watch baseball,and developed a fondness for the New York Mets. Seemed to me like people loved the Mets despite the fact that they sucked..
I wrote and directed my first play in 1964. It was based on a story about a battle during the Korean War. For the cast,I brought on some of the kids who earlier wanted to beat me up as well as those who liked to play with guns. (I never liked playing with guns). We went from classroom to classroom with our presentation.
In 1965,my 10th Birthday Party was held at an Italian Restaurant in Hartford that was a known hangout for Hartford politicians.The Mayor of Hartford made an appearance at my birthday party,but the biggest treat of the party was receiving the birthday present from my Mom- a flight ticket to Washington DC where I would be escorting my mom to the Inaguration of President Lyndon Johnson. My Mom forgave me for voting for Goldwater.
The summer of 65 saw me witnessing my first live baseball game. a doubleheader at DC (later to become RFK) Stadium between the Washington Senators and the Minnesota Twins. Frank Howard! Harmon Killebrew! Earl Battey!
1966 First trip to Denver Colorado.Fun cousins and a trip to Buffalo Bill's grave sold me on the place.
In 1967,I received a scholarship to attend the Kingswood School, a prestigious all boys private school located in West Hartford Connecticut,the most affluent town in the Greater Hartford area.Graduating from Kingswood boosted ones chances of being admitted into an Ivy League college by 90%. I wasnt the most liked kid in the elementary school I attended previously,and I wasn't the most liked kid at Kingswood either.It was strange how in one year I went from the kid harassed because I didn't fit in inner city Hartford to the kid harassed because I was from inner city Hartford.
In 1968,I was spending my weekends leafletting and stuffing envelopes for the Presidential campaign of Senator Eugene McCarthy. Dinner table discussions would be lively as I supported McCarthy,Mom supported first Johnson,then Hubert Humphrey,and brother Howie liked RFK.Because "Hippies" were known to hangout at McCarthy headquarters,Mom wondered if I was smoking marijuana.(Not yet) In March,King was assassinated causing riots in Hartford and Washington DC,and in June RFK was assassinated causing Howie to begin hanging out at Black Panther Headquarters. Also in June,I was kicked out of Kingswood School for flunking math. Was relieved both for not having to return there and not getting beat for flunking math this time.
In the Fall of 68 at the Mark Twain School,a public school in Hartford,I brought to school as part of a project a copy of Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix. Kids at Mark Twain didn't tease me as much..they just thought I was plain weird,and the English Teacher who I later discovered was a friend of my Mom's encouraged my mom to watch out for "possible drug use."
1969 NEW YORK METS WIN THE PENNANT!! NEW YORK METS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!! 1969 also marked my entry at Watkinson School,another private school but not with the prestige of Kingswood. I was one of a handful of blacks attending Watkinson,but it lacked the aristocratic atmosphere permeating Kingswood. I was welcomed and began a four year experience that was by far the richest educational experience in my life.
To be continued...
An excellent read. It made me want more.
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