My neighbor is suspicious and some what frightened because most of his neighbors are white and when they’re at home they spend ALL their time QUIETLY INDOORS. This seems sneaky to him and he’s positive they are PLANNING something!

I laughed at myself and told him my black neighbors put their lawn chairs on the sidewalk and talked and laughed so loud I was sure they WERE PLANNING SOMETHING!

In the sixties I attended a black high school where in a large art class the only ones of us that weren’t dark skinned were myself and a guy from Japan. Well, actually he was darker than me too, so I was the only pasty one there.

At the end of our first assignment we all waited in anticipation for a Japanese masterpiece, but we were disappointed. I thought, “Well, maybe he needs time to warm up.” By the time we’d finished our third assignment the entire class exploded in a ruckus of disappointment.

For some reason we all thought EVERONE from Japan could draw, paint, and landscape to an inspired perfection! The poor guy said that wasn’t true, but we argued back, “Yes it is! We know these things!” We told him he was wrong! We insisted he did have EVERY art talent! It was INBORN! He was baffled and insisted he was a beginner as were we. “NO!” we insisted. We almost attacked him with our understanding; he just didn’t know he was a superior artist, so get on with it and preform- now!

I love differences! Preconceived ideas surprise me and make me laugh at myself!