2004-12-12
INSTITUTIONAL CHRISTMAS
51 boys of various ages slept in three rooms | Each got a foot locker and a storage cubby for personal belongings | Clothing ~ outside of special personal items, were found in dresser drawers according to item and sizes |
We nevertheless did not feel uncared for | There were plenty of Counselors around to speak to; lots of other kids to keep one company |
The Counselors cautioned us to be wary of townfolks | Told us they distrusted "...the kids from the home..." | For those of us who attended the public school, this was no surprise | We frequently got accused of stealing or causing other problems, or being told that we were "slow" in that tone literally dripping with an edge |
But the townfolk were different at Christmas | During the holidays, there were events even on school nights | Extra venison got donated to the Home so we feasted | A plethora of public-spirited organizations hosted parties; some in the main cafeteria in Stoddard Hall | Others were held at the Elks Club, Oddfellows, Lions and Masonic Lodges ~ even at the Catholic Church in town ~ some five miles up the road | After each party, we'd all come home with our own gift stockings, which the Counselors let us keep | I remember when Walter, my next door bunkmate, got sick from eating all the candy in his gifts in a single sitting |
Once the holiday season was over, things got back to normal again | No more invitations until the Fourth of July | The other school kids make sure we knew we were pariah | And village shopkeepers resumed watching us closer when we walked up the aisles unattended, just in case we were in the mood to shoplift | So much for Christmas Spirit |
Point being, it isn't celebrating the holidays with us that's as important as the Gift of getting to know one another as human beings | A gift that ~ all too often ~ never gets unwrapped |
51 boys of various ages slept in three rooms | Each got a foot locker and a storage cubby for personal belongings | Clothing ~ outside of special personal items, were found in dresser drawers according to item and sizes |
We nevertheless did not feel uncared for | There were plenty of Counselors around to speak to; lots of other kids to keep one company |
The Counselors cautioned us to be wary of townfolks | Told us they distrusted "...the kids from the home..." | For those of us who attended the public school, this was no surprise | We frequently got accused of stealing or causing other problems, or being told that we were "slow" in that tone literally dripping with an edge |
But the townfolk were different at Christmas | During the holidays, there were events even on school nights | Extra venison got donated to the Home so we feasted | A plethora of public-spirited organizations hosted parties; some in the main cafeteria in Stoddard Hall | Others were held at the Elks Club, Oddfellows, Lions and Masonic Lodges ~ even at the Catholic Church in town ~ some five miles up the road | After each party, we'd all come home with our own gift stockings, which the Counselors let us keep | I remember when Walter, my next door bunkmate, got sick from eating all the candy in his gifts in a single sitting |
Once the holiday season was over, things got back to normal again | No more invitations until the Fourth of July | The other school kids make sure we knew we were pariah | And village shopkeepers resumed watching us closer when we walked up the aisles unattended, just in case we were in the mood to shoplift | So much for Christmas Spirit |
Point being, it isn't celebrating the holidays with us that's as important as the Gift of getting to know one another as human beings | A gift that ~ all too often ~ never gets unwrapped |
DISCLOSURE: [1] The altered images are based on archival photos of a real place where I lived when I was a kid [2] Names and some specifics have been altered to mask the instiution's actual identity [3] The kids in the color picture are not, as far as I know, actually institutionalized souls | I found the image off the internet, and it seemed to evince what I was looking for; a gaggle of teen-aged kids in a group that some would find threatening, even if they are not |
¶ 16:35
