When I graduated from high school, they told us that a lot of people were going to mention where we came from. So far, I've been reminded in certain ways. I say, "Yeah, yeah," I say, and try to mess up the paint they splashed on my face.
I am rooting for my Queens hometown in some made up contest of neighborhoods. "Says the guy who went to Thatplace."
"Hey, David. You went to Thatplace?" "Yeah..." "Fucker. Kid on my floor did, too."
"Where did you go to school?" "Just around here." "Where?" "It's on the Upper West Side." "Yeah, like which school?" "It's called Thatplace?" She goes off on how she tutors these kids from there and their curriculum is so intense, almost like where she grew up and the curriculum was also intense, even if just by American standards because she's not from this country.
"Oh, you went to Thatplace." "Yeah, I switched schools in middle school..." "Did you know this guy...?" I've forgotten. We're talking about education in low-income communities. I talked about how I switched out of public school. "Well, you know, not everyone has access to those opportunities." He goes off on statistics, his experiences at a public school Fewblocksover, and how Teachingorg is going to finally fix how different that is for someone like me. My mouth is not agape, but I'm fighting off a wrinkle in my eyebrows.
"I can't believe you're a private school kid." I'm not worried about that. This is the stuff they must have been talking about.
