I HATE Mustard Greens

By Sharon B. Brown

Maggie and her brother, Joey, learned to persevere in a time of great hardship. Their father suffered with night terrors, reliving the horror of serving as an Army officer in the Batttle of Cherbourg, in World War II.  Since he wasn't able to work, he lost his construction company.  Maggie and Joey went from riches to rags and found a way to escape this sudden change, by venturing into dangerous surroundings  No matter the danger Maggie confronted, she learned to fight back, especially when it concerned the safety of her little brother, Joey.

 

Eventually, their father received the help he needed and the family was able to climb out of poverty and face a positive future.  This story is based on real facts.  I know, because I was Maggie.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joseph Warren Brown
• Release date: Mar 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215887189

Sharon B. Brown

Having three children with special needs, made me wiser as a person.  Also, I learned how powerful prayer can be, when one is searching for the right answers. 

Book preview

Chapter One

It was in the fall of 1963, when three students stood ahead of me in line at the water fountain.  One of them, George, was sounding off as usual.

‘Sh-h-h!  Mrs. Brown will hear you,’ I said.

George sneered at me. Your shoes are ugly, just like you!

‘Oh, man! I hope he gets it!’  And, he did!

WHACK!  Mrs. Brown had swung the paddle and growled, I said no talking in line.

Ouch! cried George, rubbing his backside.

I glanced down at my white, plastic shoes, and had to admit George was right! They were ugly.  My shoes were ripped down the side, like an open can of sardines. The pair of socks I wore gave some cushion against the hard plastic digging into my skin.  Yes, indeed! Those shoes were ugly, and I had no choice, but to wear them.  And having to wear them, made me feel not just ugly on the outside, but on the inside, too.

After everyone had a sip of water, we walked single file back into that old, stuffy classroom and took our seats. Mrs. Brown passed out sheets of writing paper cut in half, while saying, It’s time to take our weekly quiz on multiplication. Make sure your name is at the top and number your paper from one to twenty.

Man! Another stinkin’ quiz! I mumbled. I glanced over at Wanda, the smartest kid in class. ‘Oh, I just bet she gets another gold star on her paper! It’s not fair for anyone to be that smart!  Makes it hard for the rest of us.’

Wanda, the teacher’s pet, sat behind me in a brand-new desk. No one else got a new desk, except for her!  It wasn’t fair! My desk was old and squeaked whenever I had to scratch or pick up my pencil, which was constantly falling out of the pencil holder, from the beige, tile floor.

Mrs. Brown began the oral drill, as we wrote down our answers. What was that?  Oh darn!  I can’t remember.  She’s going too fast.  Oh, what’s the answer to that problem? Another ‘x’ for me!

Pass your papers down, commanded Mrs. Brown, collecting them.

I sat in the middle, and it was easy for me to see the other papers decorated with ‘x’s like mine.

I felt a little better, because I wasn’t the only one that was dumb!  As Mrs. Brown stood glancing at our papers, she clicked her tongue before saying, It’s obvious some students aren’t studying at home.  If you don’t pass mathematics, you won’t get promoted to the fourth grade.

GULP! I really wanted to pass third grade.  Now, to be perfectly honest, I did try to study at home, but it was so hard on an empty stomach.  I’d have to wait, until Momma had fixed something for supper, before I could eat, and believe me, that wasn’t something to look forward to.  For example, last night, Momma had us eat mustard greens and fat back.  I HATE MUSTARD GREENS!  Eating that stuff makes me want to barf!

Of course, Momma knew this and she’d say, Pretend you’re eating something you like, then it won’t taste so bad.

Now, I had a pretty good imagination, but there was no way to pretend that the horrible taste in my mouth was anything other than those NASTY MUSTARD GREENS!

After having a math lesson on fractions, everyone couldn’t wait for lunch, except me.  My crumbled paper bag was between my desk and Tony’s.  As I reached down to pick up that disgusting paper bag, my chair squeaked, letting everyone know exactly what I was doing, while Tony turned away, giving me the cold-shoulder treatment. It had been more than a week, since we last spoke to each other.

Tony, short for Antonio, came from Cuba.  He spoke good English, probably better than I, since I rarely opened my mouth.  He was mad at me and it all started with my stinky desk.  One day we were talking about my desk and how the seat would pull up.  When Tony said it reminded him of a toilet bowl, I let loose. 

Of course, Mrs. Brown kept a firm rule about students keeping their mouths shut and their ears open, especially when she was upfront teaching.  Now, here we were laughing like a pair of hyenas. Mrs. Brown called both of us to the front of the room.  She asked if I had to use the restroom.  I replied, Yes, ma’am.

I was so nervous, about to wet my panties, as I rushed to use the toilet.  After I took care of my business, I thought about stuffing my panties with a thick padding of toilet paper.  Then I realized Mrs. Brown would never spank me. After all, this was my first offense.

Well, I was sure wrong about that!  As I opened the door and walked in, not one sound could be heard.  If someone had dropped a pin on the floor, everyone would’ve heard it. Quickly, I glanced over at Tony.  He had his head down and his arms were covering his face.  That meant one thing and one thing only!  I was definitely going to get it! Mrs. Brown had me stand in front of the class.  My heart was pounding in my chest and it took everything I had at the moment, just to breathe.

Touch your knees, she barked.

The paddle made a crackling sound as it made its mark on my butt. My eyes began to tear up and I squeeze them as tight as I could. I dug my nails deep into the palm of my left hand, so I could feel the pain, a pain to keep from crying, as she swung the paddle two more times.

I really thought after that, I’d get teased by the others, but it never happened. Maybe, Mrs. Brown threatened them, not too, and if they did, they’d get it, too!

Oh, how, I missed Tony! He couldn’t handle the shame! Well, it was hard on me, too!  Didn’t he realize I got a spanking?  He acted as if it was all my fault.  Well, he was just going to have to get over it!  If he wasn’t going to talk to me, I may as well try to find another friend.

Chapter Two

One day I was standing behind Henry, the nose-picker, and Tony was behind me.  I gave Tony one last chance to talk.  When I turned around to say something to him, he turned his head away.  That’s it!  I’ve had enough of him being such a baby!

Now, Henry made me sick when I saw him picking his nose and eating his boogers.  Kids would tease him about it.  No one wanted to be around him!  I didn’t see any problem striking up a conversation with him, as long as I didn’t have to hold his hand.

Henry wanted a friend so badly.  He was so happy when I spoke to him.  From that moment on, he and I were like peas in a pod.  We started walking home together.  Whenever we found a cluster of flowers, Henry helped me pick them, so I could give them to Momma.  If Henry found a penny or a nickel on the road, he gave it to me. 

So, as we entered the cafeteria, I carried that disgusting bag up against my hip, reminding me of a large zit, needing to get popped.  I really wanted to get rid of it, but then I’d have to go hungry. Since I could hear and feel my stomach growling, it was better to eat whatever Momma had packed, than starve. 

As usual, Henry stood in front of me.  Suddenly, he turned around and stared at me.  I guess he could tell by the look of doom on my face, how much I hated being there.  Here, he said, opening his hand to reveal a quarter.  I’m not hungry.

No, I said, shaking my head. I’m not taking your lunch money.

I watched as Henry was given a tray of food from a cafeteria worker, while I stood drooling. If I had more spunk, I would have left the line and head towards the table, sitting in my assigned seat at the end of the table. But, no!  I had to stand here, like some clown, walk up to the cashier and tell her I didn’t have any money.  She asked if I wanted a carton of milk and I would shake my head, keeping my mouth closed, not wanting to leak out the words, "Look, lady, the answer is always, NO!’

I followed behind Henry, until he left the line.  His seat was at the front of the lunch table, while I headed toward the end of it. As I took my seat, I wondered what Momma had packed inside my lunch bag.

Momma did her best to find something for me to take to school.  Sometimes, it was boiled eggs and a biscuit.  Sometimes, it was cheese, instead of eggs. Today, I didn’t know what was inside that crumpled, old bag.  But whatever was inside, I didn’t want anyone to see it! I opened the paper bag and peered inside.  Yuck!  There were two pancakes smeared with peanut butter, wrapped in an old bread bag.  Well, I had two choices.  I could shove it down my throat before anyone could see it, or I could throw it back inside the bag and get rid of it! Well, I decided to eat it, because I was so hungry!  I took several big bites.  My tongue got stuck to the roof of my mouth, because of that peanut butter.  I needed some water to swallow it down. Quickly, I reached inside to get the cup Momma had packed, so I could ask for water.  I stood up looking to see if Mrs. Brown was sitting at the teacher’s table.  Well, she hadn’t sat down, yet. I waited and waited and waited.  It didn’t take long before everyone was sitting down at the table.  I couldn’t take the chance.  Soon, someone would notice I had a pancake sandwich for lunch. Now, here I was waiting with my mouth shut trying desperately to swallow.  I had to wait until Mrs. Brown sat at the teacher’s table.  I got nervous and shoved that sucker back inside the bag, just before Mrs. Brown took a seat.  I waved the cup in the air.  Mrs. Brown saw me and nodded.

I grabbed the brown bag, rushed over to the water fountain, and filled my cup. Once I’d filled up my cup, I dropped the bag into a nearby trash can.  I was about to return to my seat, when I saw Ellen, a friend of mine, sitting with her class.  Ellen lived one block away from me.  She always brought a lunch from home, like I did.  Except, hers was a real lunch! I watched as she took out a sandwich wrapped in wax paper along with a banana, and four cookies wrapped in a smaller sheet of paper. Next to her food, was a thermos probably containing grape koolaid, since that was her favorite. 

I was shocked when I heard one of Ellen’s classmates say, She always brings her lunch.

Yeah, that’s because her family lives in Slab Town, replied another.

Yeah, poor white trash, added a third.

All three girls began to giggle. ‘Wow!’ I thought. ‘I can’t believe Ellen is getting teased like that! Well, I guess you’re nobody, unless you have money.’ Ellen looked in my direction and smiled.  It didn’t seem to bother her. She pointed at the cookies.  You want? she mouthed.

No, that’s okay, I mouthed back.

Ellen looked around before getting up.  One was never allowed to leave the table without permission.  But Ellen was a daredevil.  She left the table.  She ran over to me and placed two cookies in my hand.

I whispered, Thanks!

Sitting back down at the lunch table, I glanced down at the two oatmeal cookies in my hand.  Momma use to keep cookies like these in a cookie jar in our pantry, along with other goodies. In the blink of an eye, my life had changed.  Daddy had a nervous breakdown caused by flashbacks of being an officer in World War II.  But Daddy happened to be more than just an officer.  He was a trained American spy.  I don’t know if he killed anyone or not.  Frankly, I didn’t want to know! So, I never asked.

After eating those two cookies, I was still hungry. The rest of the school day was nothing but a blur.  As I stepped on our back porch, I heard my stomach growling.  There was a time when Momma had made a plate for me.  She called it an after-school snack.  Usually, it was a glass of milk with a slice of bread with jam.  Now, it was nothing more than a distant memory.  Would it get worse?  Each day was hard!

My younger brother, Joey, was nibbling on a piece of white stuff. M-m-m, it tastes like vanilla ice cream.

I snatched it from him.  I bit into it. Blah!  I spit it back out.  It was soap!

I fooled you, he chuckled.

You worm! I screamed, kneeling down to tickle him on the stomach.

Chapter Three

One day Henry stopped coming to school.  I thought he was sick. When Mrs. Brown no longer called his name during roll call, I knew Henry had moved.

I missed walking home with Henry.  I thought about walking with Ellen.  But she and Lizzie were always in a hurry to get home.  I liked to take my time looking for any fallen change. Usually, I looked for coins in the parking lot at Robert’s Grocery Store.  Then I’d go down several side roads heading towards my home.  One day, I saw some dainty yellow flowers along the side of the road.  Momma liked flowers.  So, I picked some.  I was gathering my things, when I heard running footsteps behind me. I turned around.  Ricky, Tommy, and Johnny, the meanest boys in third grade, were standing in front of me.

Ricky spat on the ground near my shoes.  Got any money?

My heart began to pound inside my head as I barely whispered, No.

You’re lying, he said.

My eyes met his and I saw the mean look in his eyes.  I gulped!  Ricky had a reputation for hurting animals.  He’d torture them.  He’d step on birds.  Strange, his Daddy was the minister of the only church in Slab Town.  Sometimes,