high school years
It was Monday, February 10th, 1997, just after 9 a.m., and I was less than two weeks away from my 15th birthday. I was an eighth grader at William H. Brown Elementary School, located at 54 North Hermitage in Chicago. My class was in room 226, but our regular teacher, Mrs. Blackwood, was out that day—possibly due to illness. Instead, a substitute teacher named Ms. Hale came in. Interestingly, she might have been the granddaughter of our social studies teacher, Mr. Hale.
Almost immediately, a good number of students, especially Timeka McClain, warned Ms. Hale, “Don’t let him see your shoes.” I felt deeply humiliated by their behavior. To make matters worse, Ms. Hale didn’t want to say a word to me at all, though she was friendly with the other students.
Fast forward to March 4th, 1997, during gym class near the end of the school day. The girls invited Ms. Hale to play jump rope, and she immediately took off her shoes. She was wearing a tan-colored skirt suit, leopard-print pumps, and sheer black pantyhose. For the first time, she showed off her red toenails, and I was so jealous. Again, I tried to talk to her, but she still didn’t want anything to do with me.
Then, on March 24th, 1997, at the end of the school day, as I was walking toward the west entrance of the school, I wanted to talk to an older lady in the hallway—possibly a parent. Suddenly, Timeka came up, got between us, snapped at me with a distasteful attitude, and pointed me toward the entrance, telling me to keep moving. I was red-faced and furious, wanting to slap her, but I held back.
On top of that, I was getting teased and bullied, and I was also having occasional angry outbursts. That night, I brainstormed ways to stop Timeka and her classmates—John Green, Kanisha Elders, and Tywan Flax—from speaking to any more ladies.
The next day, March 25th, during lunchtime in the basement cafeteria, another lady came down, and I greeted her and introduced myself. While talking, I pointed toward Kanisha and said, “I want to show you something. See that girl over there? Don’t listen to her.” Kanisha was furious, but this was my way of getting back at her for what happened on February 10th.
Kanisha was not the only one I targeted. I did the same with Timeka and John Green for other ladies I met, especially Chyvonne McCottrell, a local school council member, the next morning. I asked Chyvonne if I could see her shoes and feet, and she happily obliged. On a brighter note, on May 22nd, 1997, I passed the eighth grade with flying colors! Meanwhile, the tactic of warning ladies not to listen to Kanisha, John, or Timeka continued until June 5th, 1997, the day of my eighth-grade luncheon, and I was inspired by the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott of the 1950’s to do so. Then, on June 17th, 1997, I graduated on time, left Brown Elementary, and did not look back.
Then came September 2nd, 1997. I was enrolled at Nicholas Senn High School, located at 5900 North Glenwood Avenue in Chicago’s Edgewater community. During the first semester, from September 1997 through January 1998 – and this was long beforeand flash (thumb) drives in 2000, followed by the terrorist attacks on 09/11/2001, then Facebook in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Twitter (now X) in 2006, and Instagram in 2010 – while many of my school friends were wearing stylish footwear and clothing from such designers as Pelle Pelle, Fubu, Champion, Timberland, Guess, Gucci, Donna Karan New York, Lugz, Karl Kani, Nautica, The Gap, Paco Jeans, Perry Ellis, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, and Adidas, and wearing fashionable gold chains around their necks, along with their Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) student riding permits and school identification cards on tiny steel-beaded metal ID chains around their necks, and taking CTA buses and trains to and from school, I was compelled to wear plain, cheap, boring, off-brand, generic clothing from thrift stores and the now-defunct Sears clothing stores, and ride the little yellow school bus. The only chain I wore was the ID chain, and I was very jealous. Also, I was under the presumption that I would find girls that were dressed like the ones in the 1970’s film Cooley High — girls in skirts and pumps. Well, I WAS WRONG! I mostly saw them casually dressed and wearing footwear above their anklebones.
On December 11th, 1997, after the Christmas assembly at Nicholas Senn High School, I became friends with a girl named Timisha Gadson, who was a 1998 graduate. She was the only girl who always wore footwear that stayed below her anklebones, while I mostly had to see other girls wear footwear above their anklebones at least 80–90% of the time.
To make matters worse, she was involved in a relationship with a guy named Jeffery Rogers. The first time that Timisha and I met, she was wearing a pair of tan sandals and opaque black tights. Then, on January 27th, 1998, as my special-education class and I, alongside our teacher and teacher’s assistant, returned to our division, 134, which was at the time in room 217, I found Timisha standing next to Jeffery, wearing the same tan sandals that she had worn during our first meeting, but this time, with sheer gray pantyhose.
Then came February 26th, 1998, the day I met Amecia Porter.
However, one of the most somber days of my high school life was June 12, 1998, the day they graduated with their fellow graduates.
I bounced back the following Monday, June 15th, and at least, there was Amecia Porter — again — and I saw her again that following Monday, this time, right in front of the school library. She wore a shirt-sleeved, button-down white shirt, brown dress vest, brown dress pants, brown dress sandals, and sheer white nylon knee-highs. We spoke, then she gave me a bear hug. Now, THAT took my mind off that moment. Then, on July 22, I began learning Spanish.
Then came the start of my sophomore year, and that was when I befriended a girl named Jennifer Allen, who started high school as a freshman and quickly filled the void which Timisha had left. During the first semester of my sophomore year, when I asked Jennifer whether I could see her shoe, she refused to let me do so.
Then, it was not until August 7th, 1999, right before the start of my junior year, during a church picnic at 4840 South Dorchester Avenue, that I began to appreciate going to a Black Baptist church, where I was more than able to encounter more ladies wearing footwear below their ankles and the clothing which was similar to which I saw in Cooley High. Timisha, as well as a move to New Orleans—which my now-deceased mom had planned for us to make in the summer of that same year but then canceled at the last moment—inspired me to begin visiting Black Baptist churches.
That was when I was thinking to myself, “If I can’t find any more girls like Timisha, or the girls like the ones dressed in Cooley High at my school, then I’ll FIND them at the church.”
Then, on September 12th, 1999, after the start of my junior year, while visiting a church at 5353 West North Avenue, I encountered a girl named Tasha, who was wearing a green blouse, knee-length black skirt, and sheer black pantyhose. She was probably the youth choir director. When it was time to welcome visitors, she came up to me with her shoes—peep-toed backless shoes—already off and hugged me, and through the pantyhose, there were metallic-orange-painted toenails. That was one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Eventually, I would encounter other well-dressed church ladies wearing footwear below their ankles at various other churches, mainly like the ones in Cooley High (October 24th 1999, @ 1058 West 103rd Street, when I met a portly and petite lady, who was wearing a tan skirt suit, tan pumps, and dark-brown-colored pantyhose — we spoke, and she gave me a bear hug; the evening of October 29th, 1999, @ 9511 South Commercial Avenue, when I was speaking with a girl by the name of Leslie Lackey (who I had met two Fridays earlier, and she was only wearing a navy-blue sweat suit), and was NOW wearing a long-sleeved, low-cut-necklined red dress for the church’s sixth-anniversary concert; she was bare-legged and wore black slingbacks barefoot, and Leslie Lackey and I shared hugs; the evening of December 31st, 1999 into the first hour of January 1st, 2000, when we ALL hugged one another at the stroke of midnight, and I saw a lady by the name of Kenya Edwards — she was wearing a low-cut-necklined, long-sleeved, ankle-length brown dress and a pair of brown pantyhose, and her toenails were painted orange (with her shoes off, and I do recall that vividly, and we hugged); and Easter Sunday, April 23rd, 2000, @ 4840 South Dorchester Avenue), and that was how Timisha inspired me to encounter those church ladies.
After my junior year, on July 2, 2000, I surrendered my life to the Lord Almighty (even though I was still getting these occasional angry outbursts).
Then, during my senior year in the 2000–2001 school year, after we all started wearing plain white T-shirts, button-down shirts, sweatshirts, or blouses with our jeans, pants, or skirts, as required by the school, and I again had to ride the school bus, I was thankful for the white shirts and blouses.
Around that time, I picked up a novel called Flyy Girl, and I read that Tracy Ellison, who lived in 1980s Philadelphia, attended public school and wore stylish clothing, while her neighbor Mercedes attended Catholic school and wore Catholic school uniforms. Mercedes did not like attending Catholic school or wearing those uniforms. That made me realize that Mercedes was experiencing a problem similar to the one I experienced during the first semester of my freshman year in 1997–1998.
As for Jennifer, she continued to refuse to show me her feet or footwear until November 29, 2000, during the first semester of my senior year, when she finally took her shoes off and showed me her feet as well. She was wearing a white blouse, a long black skirt, black dress shoes below her ankles, and sheer black pantyhose, and she was wearing reddish-orange polish on her toes.
Then, on February 5, 2001, she again showed me her shoes and feet, and she was once again wearing reddish-orange nail polish on her toes (in this instance, she was wearing sheer black nylon knee-highs). The same happened on April 5, 2001, but this time she was wearing backless shoes made by Stefani (again, she was wearing sheer black nylon knee-highs). On April 12, 2001, when she showed me her feet again, this time, she was wearing sheer white nylon knee-highs.
Finally, on May 23, 2001, she was bare-legged and barefoot in white platform flip-flops (she was wearing a white blouse and a matching color golf-style skirt), and once again she was wearing the same color nail polish on her toes. This was all before I graduated high school. Jennifer graduated the following year, in 2002.
Now, about the OCCASIONAL angry outbursts: the outbursts continued on straight through until about February 2014, the month that my mom passed away. Since then, I have mellowed out, and NOW, I am a member of not ONE, but TWO churches — New Covenant M.B. Church (nicknamed “The Cov”), at 754 East 77th Street; AND the Move of God Church of God in Christ, at 7800 South Cottage Grove Avenue. Now, that concludes my LONG story.
Almost immediately, a good number of students, especially Timeka McClain, warned Ms. Hale, “Don’t let him see your shoes.” I felt deeply humiliated by their behavior. To make matters worse, Ms. Hale didn’t want to say a word to me at all, though she was friendly with the other students.
Fast forward to March 4th, 1997, during gym class near the end of the school day. The girls invited Ms. Hale to play jump rope, and she immediately took off her shoes. She was wearing a tan-colored skirt suit, leopard-print pumps, and sheer black pantyhose. For the first time, she showed off her red toenails, and I was so jealous. Again, I tried to talk to her, but she still didn’t want anything to do with me.
Then, on March 24th, 1997, at the end of the school day, as I was walking toward the west entrance of the school, I wanted to talk to an older lady in the hallway—possibly a parent. Suddenly, Timeka came up, got between us, snapped at me with a distasteful attitude, and pointed me toward the entrance, telling me to keep moving. I was red-faced and furious, wanting to slap her, but I held back.
On top of that, I was getting teased and bullied, and I was also having occasional angry outbursts. That night, I brainstormed ways to stop Timeka and her classmates—John Green, Kanisha Elders, and Tywan Flax—from speaking to any more ladies.
The next day, March 25th, during lunchtime in the basement cafeteria, another lady came down, and I greeted her and introduced myself. While talking, I pointed toward Kanisha and said, “I want to show you something. See that girl over there? Don’t listen to her.” Kanisha was furious, but this was my way of getting back at her for what happened on February 10th.
Kanisha was not the only one I targeted. I did the same with Timeka and John Green for other ladies I met, especially Chyvonne McCottrell, a local school council member, the next morning. I asked Chyvonne if I could see her shoes and feet, and she happily obliged. On a brighter note, on May 22nd, 1997, I passed the eighth grade with flying colors! Meanwhile, the tactic of warning ladies not to listen to Kanisha, John, or Timeka continued until June 5th, 1997, the day of my eighth-grade luncheon, and I was inspired by the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott of the 1950’s to do so. Then, on June 17th, 1997, I graduated on time, left Brown Elementary, and did not look back.
Then came September 2nd, 1997. I was enrolled at Nicholas Senn High School, located at 5900 North Glenwood Avenue in Chicago’s Edgewater community. During the first semester, from September 1997 through January 1998 – and this was long beforeand flash (thumb) drives in 2000, followed by the terrorist attacks on 09/11/2001, then Facebook in 2004, YouTube in 2005, Twitter (now X) in 2006, and Instagram in 2010 – while many of my school friends were wearing stylish footwear and clothing from such designers as Pelle Pelle, Fubu, Champion, Timberland, Guess, Gucci, Donna Karan New York, Lugz, Karl Kani, Nautica, The Gap, Paco Jeans, Perry Ellis, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, and Adidas, and wearing fashionable gold chains around their necks, along with their Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) student riding permits and school identification cards on tiny steel-beaded metal ID chains around their necks, and taking CTA buses and trains to and from school, I was compelled to wear plain, cheap, boring, off-brand, generic clothing from thrift stores and the now-defunct Sears clothing stores, and ride the little yellow school bus. The only chain I wore was the ID chain, and I was very jealous. Also, I was under the presumption that I would find girls that were dressed like the ones in the 1970’s film Cooley High — girls in skirts and pumps. Well, I WAS WRONG! I mostly saw them casually dressed and wearing footwear above their anklebones.
On December 11th, 1997, after the Christmas assembly at Nicholas Senn High School, I became friends with a girl named Timisha Gadson, who was a 1998 graduate. She was the only girl who always wore footwear that stayed below her anklebones, while I mostly had to see other girls wear footwear above their anklebones at least 80–90% of the time.
To make matters worse, she was involved in a relationship with a guy named Jeffery Rogers. The first time that Timisha and I met, she was wearing a pair of tan sandals and opaque black tights. Then, on January 27th, 1998, as my special-education class and I, alongside our teacher and teacher’s assistant, returned to our division, 134, which was at the time in room 217, I found Timisha standing next to Jeffery, wearing the same tan sandals that she had worn during our first meeting, but this time, with sheer gray pantyhose.
Then came February 26th, 1998, the day I met Amecia Porter.
However, one of the most somber days of my high school life was June 12, 1998, the day they graduated with their fellow graduates.
I bounced back the following Monday, June 15th, and at least, there was Amecia Porter — again — and I saw her again that following Monday, this time, right in front of the school library. She wore a shirt-sleeved, button-down white shirt, brown dress vest, brown dress pants, brown dress sandals, and sheer white nylon knee-highs. We spoke, then she gave me a bear hug. Now, THAT took my mind off that moment. Then, on July 22, I began learning Spanish.
Then came the start of my sophomore year, and that was when I befriended a girl named Jennifer Allen, who started high school as a freshman and quickly filled the void which Timisha had left. During the first semester of my sophomore year, when I asked Jennifer whether I could see her shoe, she refused to let me do so.
Then, it was not until August 7th, 1999, right before the start of my junior year, during a church picnic at 4840 South Dorchester Avenue, that I began to appreciate going to a Black Baptist church, where I was more than able to encounter more ladies wearing footwear below their ankles and the clothing which was similar to which I saw in Cooley High. Timisha, as well as a move to New Orleans—which my now-deceased mom had planned for us to make in the summer of that same year but then canceled at the last moment—inspired me to begin visiting Black Baptist churches.
That was when I was thinking to myself, “If I can’t find any more girls like Timisha, or the girls like the ones dressed in Cooley High at my school, then I’ll FIND them at the church.”
Then, on September 12th, 1999, after the start of my junior year, while visiting a church at 5353 West North Avenue, I encountered a girl named Tasha, who was wearing a green blouse, knee-length black skirt, and sheer black pantyhose. She was probably the youth choir director. When it was time to welcome visitors, she came up to me with her shoes—peep-toed backless shoes—already off and hugged me, and through the pantyhose, there were metallic-orange-painted toenails. That was one of the most memorable moments of my life.
Eventually, I would encounter other well-dressed church ladies wearing footwear below their ankles at various other churches, mainly like the ones in Cooley High (October 24th 1999, @ 1058 West 103rd Street, when I met a portly and petite lady, who was wearing a tan skirt suit, tan pumps, and dark-brown-colored pantyhose — we spoke, and she gave me a bear hug; the evening of October 29th, 1999, @ 9511 South Commercial Avenue, when I was speaking with a girl by the name of Leslie Lackey (who I had met two Fridays earlier, and she was only wearing a navy-blue sweat suit), and was NOW wearing a long-sleeved, low-cut-necklined red dress for the church’s sixth-anniversary concert; she was bare-legged and wore black slingbacks barefoot, and Leslie Lackey and I shared hugs; the evening of December 31st, 1999 into the first hour of January 1st, 2000, when we ALL hugged one another at the stroke of midnight, and I saw a lady by the name of Kenya Edwards — she was wearing a low-cut-necklined, long-sleeved, ankle-length brown dress and a pair of brown pantyhose, and her toenails were painted orange (with her shoes off, and I do recall that vividly, and we hugged); and Easter Sunday, April 23rd, 2000, @ 4840 South Dorchester Avenue), and that was how Timisha inspired me to encounter those church ladies.
After my junior year, on July 2, 2000, I surrendered my life to the Lord Almighty (even though I was still getting these occasional angry outbursts).
Then, during my senior year in the 2000–2001 school year, after we all started wearing plain white T-shirts, button-down shirts, sweatshirts, or blouses with our jeans, pants, or skirts, as required by the school, and I again had to ride the school bus, I was thankful for the white shirts and blouses.
Around that time, I picked up a novel called Flyy Girl, and I read that Tracy Ellison, who lived in 1980s Philadelphia, attended public school and wore stylish clothing, while her neighbor Mercedes attended Catholic school and wore Catholic school uniforms. Mercedes did not like attending Catholic school or wearing those uniforms. That made me realize that Mercedes was experiencing a problem similar to the one I experienced during the first semester of my freshman year in 1997–1998.
As for Jennifer, she continued to refuse to show me her feet or footwear until November 29, 2000, during the first semester of my senior year, when she finally took her shoes off and showed me her feet as well. She was wearing a white blouse, a long black skirt, black dress shoes below her ankles, and sheer black pantyhose, and she was wearing reddish-orange polish on her toes.
Then, on February 5, 2001, she again showed me her shoes and feet, and she was once again wearing reddish-orange nail polish on her toes (in this instance, she was wearing sheer black nylon knee-highs). The same happened on April 5, 2001, but this time she was wearing backless shoes made by Stefani (again, she was wearing sheer black nylon knee-highs). On April 12, 2001, when she showed me her feet again, this time, she was wearing sheer white nylon knee-highs.
Finally, on May 23, 2001, she was bare-legged and barefoot in white platform flip-flops (she was wearing a white blouse and a matching color golf-style skirt), and once again she was wearing the same color nail polish on her toes. This was all before I graduated high school. Jennifer graduated the following year, in 2002.
Now, about the OCCASIONAL angry outbursts: the outbursts continued on straight through until about February 2014, the month that my mom passed away. Since then, I have mellowed out, and NOW, I am a member of not ONE, but TWO churches — New Covenant M.B. Church (nicknamed “The Cov”), at 754 East 77th Street; AND the Move of God Church of God in Christ, at 7800 South Cottage Grove Avenue. Now, that concludes my LONG story.
41-45, M
