My Dad owned a small trucking business in South Baltimore. My brother, Gregory, and I were the youngest of five kids. I was ten and he was six. Our energy levels rivaled or surpassed the older three and our Mom had had enough. One day, Dad agreed to take us to the office to get us out of her hair.
The truck drivers and loading dock workers were nice. We learned to use hand trucks to move light packages to/from a truck. It was fun for a couple days, but eventually it became work, and thus boring for two young boys.
One afternoon, I lost track of Greg. I went to the office, but he was not there. My Dad said he had given him twenty-five cents to buy a soft drink at the store. He gave me a quarter so I could get one as well.
I found out that Greg did go to the store, but he did not buy a drink. As I walked out to the sidewalk looking for him, I heard kids’ voices in the alley. It was a sportsman’s yell of surprise, disbelief, and excitement. My brother had gotten the quarter broken down into smaller change and was shooting “pennies and nickels” about four feet from a brick wall. Whoever got a coin closest to the wall won the money.
Now, we had never “shot” coins before. We had never played with Black kids before. This game was interesting, educational, and fun. All of us were equal for this game of chance and skill and we welcomed the friendships.
My second most influential and educational experience with Blacks was when I was active duty in the United States Army. Most of us got along, but of course there were jerks in both races. The experience became the second time in my life that I could acknowledge and learn not only bout the differences in our races, but also our similarities. I learned a lot from those friends, especially from the older Black soldiers who encouraged me and others. The memory of that respect and camaraderie still gives me a good feeling.
My novels reflect my past. One of my major protagonists is a Black soldier. Eric Miller graduated from West Point with his friend Paul Remmich, who is white. Their military intelligence experiences were shared with other soldiers and spies of different ethnic backgrounds. The knowledge and awareness I gained from having served with men who did not believe race was a factor has been my writer’s reward.
