A little boy walked up to his mother and said, "Momma, are we poor?" The lady looked down at her soon and said, "Child please, we aren't poor, we just don't have a lot. Don't look like you missing any meals. We gots all me we need. Now go and take a bath, it's time to get your butt in the bed."
From the time I was a little boy, I knew about the class structure in the United States. I knew that on the Northside of Milledgeville in the more affluent neighborhoods lived the upper class citizens. For those families that were making it, but were one paycheck from the welfare line, those were the middle class families. In the households where we only went grocery shopping on the first of the month, there was only enough money to pay the a portion of the light bill, and where you went back-to-school shopping in your older brother's closet was the lower class. This three class system has ruled the United States for years.
My mother told me that we were not poor. We had just as much as everyone else had. My mother was a laborer. She worked in a factory job until she was forced to retire on disability, but she made sure that everything I needed or wanted - I had. I never went without. I think that's where several of us go wrong. We want too damn much. We can get by off of the bare essentials, but as greedy Americans-we want it all. We lived in a small single-wide trailer on the south side of town. Meals were always plentiful, my clothes were always clean and mother always had a reliable vehicle. Those were the basics. Whenever a new video game came out, I had it first.
Mother groomed me into the man I am. With no college degree, she is a master at life. She's been through hell in high waters, but she's persevered it all. Her claim to fame is me. That's why I do all that I can to make her proud. Looking back at those days, I sometimes question, "why the hell was I always asking for something," then I laugh and remember - my mother made sure that I had it all. I was not really concerned with if we were upper, middle, or even lower class. The love, attention, and care was there.
When I see a child that is in need, I ask myself, "what would my mother do?" Well she would feed the child first, then ask them do they need anything-then that would be that. Thats just the type person she is. I've seen children from classroom to classroom throughout my student teaching and those children are lost. All some of them need is for someone to tell them that they love them, that they can't wait to see them when they get home. Others need a good bath and warm meal. I could not be a social worker, I'd be all up in those parents faces when a child is being neglected or going without.
America, I say this - if you have a child that is without, see to it that he or she has what they need. If you are a parent, tell your son or daughter that you love them and that you are proud of them. The simplest things inspire greatness. Dinner at the kitchen table saves lives. One hour per day could save your child's life.
anditisZo