FOND BOYHOOD MAY DAY MEMORY

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Greetings and Salutations to All my Kith and Kin and All the Ships in Outer Space:

Today is May Day, a day when, as we all well know, the Communist Party celebrates with marches and parades.

But, when I was a boy at Spring Lake School (now called "Lillian Black Elementary School" in honor of my Fourth Grade teacher) in Spring Lake, located in historic Cumberland County, North Carolina, we had a traditional May Pole Dance, in which I was a participant.

I don't remember how old I was or which grade I was in, but it might have been the Fourth Grade, which means I was probably ten years old.

Each of us kids were to wear costumes representing different countries or cultures, and I was to be an American Indian (i.e., I refuse to use the politically correct term of "Native American", since it deliberately slights everybody else who is native to America).

Daddy was a career Master Sergeant in the United States Army at Fort Bragg, and Mama took one of his old khaki uniforms to make me a fringed buckskin-looking costume to wear.

On May Day, there was a large crowd gathered to watch us dance around the May Pole, which was set up on the front lawn of the school, near one end of the building.

As the music played, each of us kids held on to a colored crepe paper streamer to begin our dance, and since I was an American Indian, I did an Indian war dance and gave war whoops, as I carried my assigned colored crepe paper streamer around the May Pole.

The crowd loved it!

They cheered, applauded, and complimented me.

I was a star!

Thank you.

John Robert Mallernee, Esquire, KB3KWS

Ashley Valley Shadows
Vernal, Utah  84078

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