Today I Am Eight Years Old

Aunt Vi is putting together a birthday party for me . My cousins, Bobby, Richie, neighbors Gaileen and Joycie are supposed to come. All I can think about is Martin Luther King Jr. and his protests. He is a brave man, a great man, I hope he becomes president one day. Mom looks sad when I say that. I think there is so much anger and ignorance with white people against black people that it might never be possible for a black man to be president in my lifetime. Look what they did to Malcolm X. The KKK is awful. I think they might kill a black man running for president. Mom says president Johnson is trying to pass laws, but attitudes of the white people I know only have gotten worse. I can't stand them!

These new cousins moved here from Ohio. Bobby is 2 years younger than me. I didn't like him at all when we first met. But now I think he is my best friend. We have a lot in common. We want to start a band together. But he talks bad about black people and I knock him down when he does. He also teases his little brother too much, then they start fighting. They really hurt each other! Their grandma is really my cousin and their mom is her daughter, Cindy. Cindy is a dork compared to her pretty sister, Candy. Candy always smiles and treats her kids real nice. Cindy frowns and argues with her mom a lot. I saw her grab Bobby real hard once. She is scary one minute then nice the next. My mom said she better never lay a hand on me. Their grandma, my cousin, pulls the boy's ears when she feels like it and they scream. The family says Cindy married a hillbilly, but he seems real nice to me. I never saw him grab the boys or pull their ears. Strange people.

Miss Larson is my second grade teacher. She is really nice. We have a kid in class who is taller than Mark! I hate gym class. Why can't I shoot basketballs like the boys get to? I shoot them at home every day. Instead we square dance and tumble and stuff I'm no good at. I am fat too, so it is all hard. The kids laugh at me, especially the girls. I try to skip school on gym days. Mom asks me WHY do I hate school so much? I say nothing. What can I say? So much to say that it is unspeakable. I was tested and I read at a Jr High level. Math is simple. I love to write. Let it go, Mom. You can't begin to understand. And unless I turn into a boy pretty soon, things are going to get groady fast.

Well, Ivah picked out a dress for me to wear. This is going to be a dumb party. Maybe we can watch Flipper after words. I asked for a G.I. Joe and I think Aunt Vi will get him for me. That would be so great!

Eight, cool! Two more years and Mom promised I won't have a babysitter anymore. I can't WAIT to be ten.

Mark is all excited about getting his driver's license. His birthday is next month. Mom and I found the neatest cake for him. He will LOVE it! It is a car, blue icing (his favorite color!) and has DONUTS for wheels. We will order it next week. I wish Mom would learn to drive. Aunt Vi wants to teach her.

I want a Mustang when I turn 16. Well, when I get a car, I want a Mustang.

Vietnam. That war seems to be getting worse. It bugs me. Why do we have to have wars? Lane is getting ready to watch a new soap opera, General Hospital. I tried watching hers (The Guiding Light) with her, but it was too boring, BUT, I wouldn't mind getting a job acting in one. The acting is not hard. Aunt Vi says they are stupid and she will "NEVER" watch them. Ivah was right, aunt Vi is really stubborn.

If anyone else tells me "You're gitting so BIG" I think I'll croak. I will NEVER understand adults.