school and work

I've told you that dad had dyslexia
school and reading brought up
frustration

How did he do it?
Cruel children made terrible fun of him (it didn't help that he had bright red hair)
Every day after school his parents made him study with Aunt E
who was a school teacher.

Aunt E had been a Smith
when she married a Woodward
My grandmother was a Woodward first
until she married a Smith

In fact there were 4 Smith children who married 4 Woodwards
so my Dad's Aunts and Uncles were sort of doubled

at 16, as soon as possible, my dad quit school
he began to work at a rubber company
what exactly did he do?
he used to tell me that he maid joints
no... not the marijuana kind
but something to do with rubber for conveyor belts
He got dirty
smelled a lot
His hands always bore black stains
I don't think he liked the job much
but that's where he met Mr. Sayens
and in those Days he grew his hair into a big orange afro
and al the African Americans he worked with
called him uncle.

We met a few of the guys he worked with at the rubber company at the funeral
It was a tight group
lots of friends there.