Moment of Chaos #1
I was standing in the stairway outside the gym at Sanford Junior High school. For whatever reason, I was caught up in an argument with a classmate who until this moment was a good friend. He also happened to be black. As the intensity of the argument increased, I threw out the N word. More accurately, I call him a stupid…N.
To this day, I do not remember what the argument was about. However, as soon as the words left my dumb mouth, I regretted saying them. That pang of regret fired long before I saw my classmate’s large black fist swinging in a long slow arc towards the side of my head. The world flashed white, the side of my head exploded with pain and I felt more than saw myself propelled towards the floor.
That fist was flying much faster than it appeared. There was not time to make any decisions. Just enough time to wonder why I said something that I knew was stupid and offensive. The hard feelings passed, but he was never my friend after that day.