Starring this guy and all of his current appointees, the movie was released in January 2025. It created a new genre of film, Horror Politics. Even though it is the only film in the category it still came in last place with a 35% approval rating. You’ve got to be really bad to be this bad.

My fourth grade, fifth grade and sixth grade experience in elementary school was somewhat unique. The school had taken a class of fourth graders, fifth graders and sixth graders and combined them all together in a section of the school called The Project. Basically The Project allowed students of different ages to be in classes based somewhat on their academic abilities like in the upper grades. However home room consisted of students in the same grade. Miss Danneker was the fourth grade teacher. Mister Parker was the fifth grade teacher and mister Washington was the sixth grade teacher.

Miss Danneker was the archetype 1970s elementary school teacher. White, 30 something, blonde hair, soft spoken and easy going. She was very fair and and would be generally considered nice but sometimes had difficulty controlling the students. Kids were either threatened with going to the office or sent to the office for disciplinary reasons, a stark contrast from Miss Thompson. In fact, the students in Miss Thompson’s class preferred going to the office to escape dealing with her wrath.

Miss Danneker did have some redeeming qualities that a students didn’t understand at the time. She shared with us life experiences that went outside the traditional classroom. She had friends from many different industries and we were privileged that they would come in and share their experiences with us oftentimes providing gifts. Miss Danneker would go around the class and ask us if we had any interests or what we wanted to be when we grew up. Somebody from a respective industry would come in with experiences and merchandise and talk to us about getting into that field. No planned event or no going down to the assembly. The person would just show up. Miss Danneker would say hey we have a special guest today. All of a students were very impressed by this. College professors, policemen, firemen, scientists, doctors, nurses. They would all come in to talk to us and give us small tokens. None of this was a deterrent to the habitual mischief that would go on in her classroom, however.

During recess, many of the kids managed to sneak off and run to the local McDonald’s that was nearby. The lucky guys, of which I was not one, somehow managed to sneak off with their girl of choice and have kissing sessions in the bushes near the school. A good amount of cheating was attempted in her class as well. The pinnacle of this mischief, for me at least, was the Playboy magazine incident.

You know how when you’re young and kids have personalities and they grow up and they’re totally different from what you would imagine? Well, for our class that happened to be the Playboy Kid. The Playboy Kid was the last person you’d expect to be the one to teach the rest of us about Playboy magazines.

The Playboy Kid was a typical fourth grader. White, slightly overweight, very conservatively dressed every day with conservative parents who seemed to be a bit older than most of the other kids’ parents. He was very buttoned downed, disciplined, caused no trouble and didn’t speak out in class. He didn’t bother anyone and was friendly with everyone.

One morning while in Miss Danneker’s class there seemed to be a lot of movement going on. I really wasn’t paying attention until I heard Miss Danneker start to question people going to the restroom. Miss Danneker stated, “Hey, every 15 minutes somebody needs to go to the restroom. Can you guys hold it until we have our next break”? After that couple of guys in the class told me to ask Miss Danneker if I could use the restroom because they knew she would let me go and then allow the rest of us go as well. Only thing was I did not have to use the restroom. At this point the guys in class realized that they had to convince Playboy Kid to let me in on the little secret. You see, I was not a part of the original group of guys because my teacher’s pet reputation followed me from the third grade and so the guys didn’t trust that I would keep the secret. However they did eventually tell me and I did keep the secret.

Playboy Kid had taken his dad’s Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Edition Playboy magazine and brought it to school. He took it and placed it in the boy’s bathroom on the very top shelf where no one would look for it. Each boy would ask to go to the bathroom, have their time with  the magazine and then return to the class. Playboy Kid would receive lunch snacks or school supplies in return. Genius. Up until this point I had not heard of Playboy magazine but when explained to me I certainly asked Miss Danneker if I could use the bathroom. Just as the guys predicted Miss Danneker in fact did let me use the restroom and in succession each boy got to go once the other kid returned.

Remember this is the fourth grade. I guess you’re about nine or ten years old in the fourth grade? When I pulled that magazine off that shelf  I knew right then and there that I had entered the world of no return. Seeing those bodies, those shapes, those poses, that flesh, those body parts. I don’t think words could explain the effect that had on an adolescent boys psyche, or the rest of his body for that matter… Totally unaware of how much time had passed, I was resuscitated from my Playboy magazine trance by a male teacher knocking on the restroom door and asking me if I was okay. Lol! I was great! Finally, all the boys in the class got their opportunity to see the Dallas Cowboys Edition of Playboy magazine. But it didn’t stop there.

You see, Playboy Kid had leveraged the magazine to get extra favors in terms of lunch snacks and school supplies for himself. So I began to think. I had to see more of that magazine. I asked if I could take the magazine home. He refused initially but then I reminded him that no one would have gotten a chance to see the magazine if I hadn’t asked to use the restroom. Also I had saved us from getting caught because one of the boys stayed in there too long and I “volunteered” to go get him as opposed to Miss Danneker going to get him. I reminded all of the guys of this as well. So I took the magazine home and made a lot of new friends among  older guys in the community before returning it back to Playboy Kid. But back to Miss Danneker…..

At some point during the school year Miss Danneker went around the class asking all the guys what sports they liked and which teams they liked. At that point my favorite team was the Minnesota Vikings because of running back Chuck Foreman.  One day sometime a little later Miss Danneker pulls up to the school and she starts bringing in boxes. Out of these boxes she starts pulling out signed memorabilia from different teams. I received a football and a poster from the Minnesota Vikings signed by just about every member of the team. Other classmates received similar items from their idols or their sports teams. As it turned out Miss Danneker’s husband worked for either an NFL  franchise or for the league. This suddenly made her very popular with the other student and also the envy of the other teachers. 

The life lesson that we learned from Miss Danneker is one of the most important of all: Dreams are attainable and therefore tangible. Our idols were real people that we had access to no matter where we came from. More importantly we could achieve just like them.

Thank you Ms. Danneker.

Side note:  For 50 years I’ve told my friends that I became a Cowboys fan because of Tony Dorsett. However, the Dallas Cheerleaders were the ones who started it all……

Please learn the life of Annie Easley.

Elementary school is a place where you first get to develop your social skills. Separation from your family under the guidance of your teachers forces you to find and/or accept your identity. I was fortunate to have a great social experience with school overall but it did start off with some challenges.

Like most kids I went to school because I had to with no particular desire to make friends or to be a good student, following the crowd like most adolescents. Thankfully, I had great teachers who I’d like to focus on during my tenure in elementary school. I made a lot of great friends who became friends for life. Far too many to mention here, but I’m grateful for the experiences that we’ve shared.

Following is a list of my favorite teachers who taught me lessons for life. And some who provided a lot of laughs along the way.

Thanks to Ms. Freeland who showed genuine interest in all of her students and taught us the importance of learning.

This next teacher changed my life literally. Her name was Miss Thompson, the quintessential “Big Mama” with all of the “ingredients”. Plus sized body, full sized mouth and a big bodacious attitude accompanied by a yardstick that was constantly in her hand just in case you forgot who she was.

Third grade, 1st day of school. 8:30 in the morning. I’m sitting at my assigned desk wearing a yellow number fifty five football jersey. I hear Miss Thompson yelling across the room, “Boy in the yellow sweater!  Boy in the yellow sweater! Boy in the yellow sweater. Do you hear me talking to you?” I’m nonchalantly looking around the room at the new students. Next thing I know, WHACK! The yardstick came crashing down across my desk. Miss Thompson says, “BOY!!! Didn’t you hear me talking to you?” Shocked, I replied, “You said boy in the yellow “sweater”. I have on a yellow “football jersey”……Trying not to laugh, she did manage a very brief smile (one of the very few that I would see for the rest of the school year) after realizing my sincerity. Then she stated emphatically, “CLOSE THAT WINDOW BEHIND YOU AND PAY ATTENTION THE NEXT TIME I CALL YOU.  WHAT’S YOUR NAME?  I said uh, uh and could not state my name quickly enough. So Ms. Thompson turned around in a huff, sat at her desk authoritatively and called my name. I replied, “Here”. The whole class erupted in laughter. I was friends with everybody from that point on.

Ms. Thompson was a tough no nonsense teacher from the old school. She taught during segregation, which meant she had little patience for black students who didn’t have discipline, respect and who did not pay strict attention. And I happened to be one of those black students. This was the era of Corporal Punishment and Miss Thompson had no problem being the corporal dishing out punishment as she saw fit. Many of my days were filled with laughter at the expense of my classmates who unfortunately found themselves at the wrong end of Miss Thompson’s yardstick. Being disobedient would put your entire body in harm’s way. Hands, heads, arms, backs, legs. I saw that yardstick swinging through the air way more than I would have liked. Fortunately, I was never the target of her wrath!

You see, through all of her “tough” exterior and her “mean” demeanor Miss Thompson was really about love. She loved seeing her students excel in school. She loved seeing her students be their best. She loved seeing young girls in the class who were dressed respectfully and kept themselves looking nice. She always commented on the young boys who were dressed neat and encouraged us to do so. She praised us and rewarded us for doing good work just as much as she admonished us for not.

I became the de facto teacher’s pet probably based on my initial introduction to Miss Thompson on that first day. My classmates accused me of getting special privileges. I tried to deny it, but it was in fact true. One day all of boys were in trouble for something which I can no longer recall. She had all of us line up and started whacking one by one. As she approached me she hesitated briefly then skipped over to the next person. As they started to complain she went back for a second strike on them. I remained dead silent as the tears from my heavily suppressed laughter poured down my stoic, motionless face. That didn’t make me any friends.  The fellas didn’t talk to me for two days after that. There was a lesson in this for me.

Miss Thompson made me realize my ability to learn. When she yelled at me or gave me extra work or gave me tougher assignments I never cried or complained. She was the first teacher to tell me that I was a good student and she made a point to let my mother and father know how I conducted myself in class. I was given extra math and reading assignments.  She made me feel appreciated for being a good student which boosted my confidence and comfort around my peers as at that time I was just an average little overweight kid from the ‘hood.

As I became older I realized that Ms. Thompson pushed me forward by not limiting my imagination. She piqued my interest in the three “R’s”: Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmetic. I always loved and respected her for that. And because of her I had a healthy dose of fear and respect for all teachers which made me want to do my best in every class thereafter.

Some years later I upon hearing that her husband passed away I called to offer condolences. She did not remember me by voice so requested that I visit in person. Upon opening the door she instantly recalled who I was and hugged me like any “Big Mama” would.

R.I.P. Ms. Thompson

Finally had some time to create music. Check out audio of my new track “Stream Of Conscience”. Guitar and vocals to be added soon.

Great time hearing some live music presented by my friend Daryl and his band.

Aw man sunshine girl! Whoa man! I met Sunshine Girl when I was five years old. My family had recently returned back to Annapolis from Baltimore. The community we moved to was called “20”. This is where I met her.

Sunshine Girl did not live in “20”. She came to visit relatives there usually in the summer. I saw her for the first time either during the summer after kindergarten or the summer after first grade. She was the prettiest human being I’d ever seen in my life. Big pretty brown eyes that twinkled when she blinked. Real eyelashes that would put these modern fake ones to shame and she had a smile that was brighter than the sun. Hence the name. Her skin was a pretty caramel color that was even prettier when it was tan. She was the first girl that made me recognize “a girl” and I sat up and took notice. At five years of age I did not know what a kiss was but I certainly knew that I wanted to kiss her…..

The amazing thing was Sunshine Girl would actually talk to me and play with me. We would run through the community and to the playground and between buildings, all innocent fun that five and six year old kids will have. She was older than me but I didn’t know that at the time. Her older cousins and two older brothers made sure I kept a safe distance. After the second grade I moved from “20” to my new community Bywater and didn’t see Sunshine Girl for a few years.

Lo and behold one day at my new community me and a couple of friends were hanging outside my house just having fun. There was a girl who lived across the street and down a little bit who was popular with all the other girls. This day a group of girls came over to hang with her. I could not believe my eyes when I saw that one of the girls with Sunshine Girl.

Sunshine Girl had the talent and beauty to be a star if she had lived in the right place at the right time. She was a natural actress who could have done tv commercials, movies, videos, comedy, anything. Even though she probably only stood about 5 foot 3 and maybe weighed about a 110 pounds she had a big smile, a big laugh and an even bigger personality. She knew how to have fun and to create fun. Wherever she was there was a party going on and I mean that in the truest sense. No building, no place, no space could contain her energy. School could not do her any justice because she had more to teach than to learn. There were some people who may have been put off by her combination of beauty and energy but not me. I was fortunate to know her and know how kind hearted she was and how loyal she was, to a fault sometimes.

All through school and into early adulthood I would see her occasionally as we would run into each other from time to time. We never dated but we also had a respectful different kind of friendship. We would  occasionally have conversations about who I was dating and I would always ask her family members how she was doing. At this point I haven’t seen her in twenty years or so but she left an indelible mark on me nonetheless.

Sunshine girl taught me a valuable lesson: be yourself, no matter what. No apologies no pretense. She also set a standard for me in the sense that I was  comfortable talking to attractive women early in my life. I never judged or feared women based on initial appearance.

And you know what? Sunshine Girl didn’t have to be anybody but herself.

I met Herb when I was four years old. His mother was my paternal aunt and we grew to be as close as brothers. I first encountered him upon visiting his house as he did not live in my community. He was the youngest of four siblings, which included two older brothers and one older sister. We were a match made for mischief.

My earliest memories of my friendship with Herb started when he lived in what we referred to as the Pink House. The exterior of the home was actually pink. Two of my older female cousins along with myself would visit occasionally throughout the year. That’s when our friendship began.

We really acknowledged our kinship when Herb’s family moved from the Pink House to the new house which became the Brown House. I was an unpolished city boy whose life was shaped by an urban upbringing. Herb was a rough around the edges country boy whose lifestyle was shaped by a suburban upbringing. Perfect!!!

All of the older cousins were recruited to help my aunt and uncle move to the new house. Myself, the younger cousin, was allowed to tag along. Upon arriving at the new house Herb and myself spent our time running around on the new front deck and out in the expansive of backyard. This was a fortelling of what was to come.

Herb and I started alternating summers at each other’s homes. My uncle had a farm which included horses, cattle, pigs and chickens. He had a barn that contained a bunch of cool motorcycles. He owned the guns and equipment that allowed him to make his own ammunition. Herb and I would go crabbing, fishing, camping, all outdoor activities that I had not experienced up to this point of my life. Herb raced motorcycles and my uncle would allow me to go along to the track to serve as the “assistant mechanic”. They taught me how to ride motorcycles. My aunt and uncle worked irregular schedules  which allowed herb and I to have a lot of time at home by ourselves. There were other friends around, but not like in my community……

Herb spent summers at my house, which included me and my two younger siblings. As a matter of fact Herb, Pete and myself became like the three amigos. See one of us you see all of us. The good times and troubles grew exponentially. I lived in a community of town homes. No fishing, no crabbing, no camping, but lots of people. Mainly, lots of girls. And Herb noticed. His community was somewhat isolated. He lived in a single family home surrounded by a few acres of land. His friends lived about a quarter of a mile away. In my community, all of my friends were literally right next door. The girls were all around across the street, up the street, down the street, next door, everywhere. He could barely contain himself. I didn’t blame him. We indulged ourselves accordingly……having more fun than should be allowed as teenagers.

I learned a lot of valuable lessons from Herb, some directly some indirectly. Herb was the first I saw who owned an electric guitar and an amplifier. I bought an electric base because we were supposed to start a band. After about a year, Herb turned his interest elsewhere (girls) and gave me the guitar and amp. He made playing music tangible for me. Somewhere in our mid teens, he gave me one of the most important lessons in my life. He said this: Don’t worry about stuff. If you can’t change it, it’s gonna happen anyway. If you can change it, then change it. I never forgot those words. I’ve had to apply it many times over the course of my life. Another thing herb taught me was toughness. He had to fight for his position in the family as he grew up with some tough older siblings. Even though he was privileged he had to grow up fast. I also learned that having a privileged life doesn’t mean that your life is complete.

There’s so much more. I could add to this story, but I’ll end by saying this. I am eternally grateful for the times that we get to spend together.