My Introduction to the Nation of Islam was via a recording of a debate. Before that moment in time I had not given the discipline much thought.
I attended a very well funded highschool on Long Island in Northport NY, Im certain they must have had classes that we meant to lay the foundation for a such academic skill set but due to the complete lack of true, transformative mental health care for teens in America, I did not tap into the depth of my school had to offer.
I scratched the surface though, I did take the classes on childcare, auto mechanics and cooking. They were the highlight of my highschool experience.
There was an actual nursery school program in the childcare classroom and our teacher was their main teacher too and we’d cycle through as her helpers each period.
I learned how to change oil and sparkplugs. My father was a old car guy. I grew up with a 59 corvet in our basement garage that he had restored to mint condition himself. We went to lots of old car shows in my youth and that class did help me greatly in my days of traveling cross country in old vans.
But I felt the opportunity to cook as the most valuable. And as fun as cooking was for me in my own life, I had issues in that class because the teacher required you to eat the food you cooked for a passing grade.
She watched us like a hawk and it quickly became an issue that I was a vegetarian and striving to be vegan in 1992.
It came to a head one day when we made Toad in a Hole which was sausage cooked with a biscuit crust.
I had skills in the kitchen so my more compliant friends were hatching a plan for me to just scrape the bit of biscuits off the top of the dish and be seen eating and not fail the unit. They just wanted us to get through the dish and move on. They covered for me and offered to cook the sausage, I’d make the batter. Deal.
But all hell broke loose when she gave out the recipe and instructions.
Show more...