THE COOKIE
As I sit here and look at this picture, I see a man as one of the smartest men I have ever known. As a matter of fact, I always said if I were to have ever been a contestant on the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” he would, without hesitation, be my life line to call to ask a question. You know, to save me to continue in on the game. He once loved to work on cars to fix up and sell. He once had a 57 Chevy…wish he still had that one. It was a beauty!! You see, brains like he has is a true blessing. He didn’t choose to go to college or be a scholar of any type. I never understood why he chose the path he chose. Let me explain why. Here’s my blog, here’s my story.
Roger was one of seven children. He was one of the ones in the middle. He had 4 older brothers, one half-brother, one brother younger than him, and a sister. I don’t know much about Roger when he was a child, but I do know a little about him as an adult. I know he had plans on going to college, but those plans changed when he found out he had a daughter on the way. After the first a second came along about 14 months later. 5 years later was number three. He continued to have children until there were a total of five. Unlike in his family where there were mostly boys, his were all girls. He started his adult work life in a glass factory. He was a truck driver for a bit. At one point he was laid off and the family pretty much scraped pennies for several years. Eventually he would get a job in a steel factory and work over 30 years in an extremely hot and uncomfortable atmosphere. Oh, and Roger had a love for music. He always had a record player in the house. I don’t recall him being much of a singer, but he sure loved his records. He collected 33 and 45 vinyl records. This was in the 70’s and early 80’s. When music was awesome. If you’ve read my blog, you know I’m an 80’s girl. I’m sure the 70’s music is why I fell in love with music in the first place. Anyway, if I recall, Roger usually made people laugh as well. That’s a little about Roger when he was younger. Some would say Roger lived a simple life but hard life. A life I never understood because he seemed to have had so much charisma and was so intelligent.
When I was in my 40’s he told me a story about when he was a child. He said, “Did I ever share with you the story about “the cookie”?” I said, “No, I don’t recall.” He said, “when I was a child my mother used to tell me that although I was smart and I brought home good grades that I was nobody special in this home and that I wasn’t going to get treated any different.” I said, “What?” He went on to tell me that she didn’t want him to feel special just because he was a scholar and got good grades at school. He went on to say, “One time when she was giving out cookies, she wanted to give me a broken cookie and I asked if I could have a whole cookie. She said, “No. You may be a privileged character as school, but in this house, you are like everybody else.” He said, “She gave me the broken cookie. Just to prove to me that I wasn’t special.” Folks, I tell this story with tears rolling down my face. Value and worth….value and worth. All my life I’ve always wanted others to know their value and worth. My grams used to say, “Nobody is any better than anyone else. Treat everyone the same.” Those are more of grams “words of wisdom.” And I’ve done just that…I always have. So please do me a favor. Look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself how important and how valuable and amazing you are. You are special! We are ALL SPECIAL! If not for yourself, for Roger. The child who was told he wasn’t special. Before I go, I have two more things to share with you. This fella I am speaking of, the one in the picture, is my father. And until this day, at 68 years old, to prove to himself he is special, he won’t eat a broken cookie.
