Born With a Rusty Spoon: Episode 31
..."Mama, Mr. Angel wants me to go back to Oklahoma next year 'cause he thinks I'm really smart," Willie said in a hopeful voice. "He says he'll help me and I can get better schoolin' there."...
Famous artist Bertie Stroup Marah continues her not-to-be-missed account of a tough upbringing.
To buy a copy of Bertie's wonderful book please visit
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Rusty-Spoon-Artists-Memoir/dp/1935514660/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1282226141&sr=1-1-fkmr0
To see some of her pictures click on
http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=bertie+stroup+marah+pictures&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=5vpkTNykBtKR4gbsgJmWCg&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQsAQwAA
Willie's eighth grade teacher, Mr. Angel, hired him to chop wood. On Saturdays, Willie would walk from Weed to Sacramento, chop wood all day, and then walk back to Weed. Mr. Angel was impressed with his hard work and saw a lot of potential in him.
One Saturday as they sat having lunch, Mr. Angel talked to Willie about going back to Oklahoma with his family and going to school there. Willie waited a few days before mentioning this conversation to Mama.
"Mama, Mr. Angel wants me to go back to Oklahoma next year 'cause he thinks I'm really smart," Willie said in a hopeful voice. "He says he'll help me and I can get better schoolin' there."
Mama shook her head, but didn't look surprised. "No Willie, that's just too far away." She did not consider that she was preventing Willie from having the chance to make his life better. She would not hear of Willie's leaving and although he was terribly disappointed, he never mentioned it again. Just like me, Willie felt it was his duty to help his younger siblings. But after that Willie seemed to lose interest in school.
