I.
The Art of Discovery
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” ~ Jesus, Matthew 22:
July 12, 1973, was an unusually windy and mild day in Baltimore, Maryland. In a month where the highest temperatures should be recorded, it was only seventy degrees Fahrenheit that day.
At 12:04 p.m., the cry of a baby boy filled the room. Mom had labored for hours and was exhausted. The first breaths were taken, and the earth welcomed another little human to its ranks. He was given a birth certificate, a social security number, and sent home with his family—mom, dad, and a brother, who was three years older than him.
He didn’t have any choice about who his parents or siblings would be, nor what other children would be placed around him. When he was younger, he had to make friends with the kids in his neighborhood, plus those of his parents’ friends and the church where his parents attended.
At first, relating to other kids was pretty easy—just place him with another toddler in a room with toys, and they seem to get along; that is until he or the other one wanted the same toy. But as he grew, he discovered that not everyone wanted to be friends with him. He discovered that relationships were hard.
From Standing Out to Standing Up
At school, kids made fun of him for multiple reasons, and he learned very quickly that others judged him based on his clothing, how he talked, and for some of his family’s beliefs.
One time, he was in music class in kindergarten, when the teacher stopped the class during the transition between lessons and pulled him out of the room.