First Blood
In 1968 I was in second grade at a Catholic school in Chicago. I was a straight A student and was going to be doubled promoted into the fourth grade at the beginning of the next school year. Then, my mother had her fifth child. That event changed the entire course of my life.
At the time, I had three brothers and was excited at the addition of a sister into the family. I was so excited that I invited one of the nuns from school to come to our house to see her. “She’s a little dark, isn’t she?” I still remember the comment that she made. Little did I know what that comment entailed. I was soon to find out.
She knew what was up. My two older brothers and I were told to leave the Catholic school. We obviously quit going to church. It would be years before I stepped into a place of worship again.
When my parents divorced later, my mom got all the children. This was my first hint that something was rotten in Denmark. My mother had a child by a black man while married to my father. The Chicago courts gave her custody.
© John Bielecki 2024
