Grandma's Been There

The story you are about to hear is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent... and the guilty. The problem is, I can't tell which is which. Let me introduce you to "The Brooklyn Art of Payback."

In school, they always told us we were made in our creator's image. So, didn't that mean we were born to be creative? Our teachers didn't necessarily interpret it that way, and they suffered the consequences.

I always say, "Mama didn't raise no dumb kids!" And that's because Mama was no fool herself. Back in the day, parents were fond of telling us kids that we couldn't fool them. Sometimes they were actually right. But sometimes they were dead wrong, as you'll hear in today's story.

Every generation loves to treat its children to lectures about the toys, technology, entertainment and conveniences they didn't have back in their day. Whether it was because of our elders' encouragement or simply because we were kids, our imaginations served us very well.

Everybody had that one special teacher, the one who made a difference in their lives. Sister Myra was an open-minded educator who encouraged my creativity and broadened my perspective. It was the school year of 1967-68 and the entire world was on the brink of a cultural revolution. Let me tell you about the eighth grade.