Geneva Crouch This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. drama-ballad

   www.bylinefranklin.com/bylinef - [Cached]

   Published on: 10/24/2006   Last Visited: 5/27/2007

   One of his student teachers was a young lady named Geneva Crouch . . . and . . . and she was one of the prettiest women he had ever seen. Sometimes, as he listened to her, his mind wandered far off the subject of English . . . He said nothing to her, of course. It was against the rules for students to date teachers, and he didn't dare risk the anger of the administration. When he graduated from high school in the spring of 1928 there was a small ceremony, but Wilk missed it because he had to work. He didn't feel sorry for himself, though. It wouldn't be the last time he graduated from something; of that he was certain. His fear of failure had vanished. If he had made it this far then he could keep on keeping on all the way to . . . where?
   ...
   Worse, the pretty teacher, Geneva, left for Prairie View with them.
   ...
   There was even enough time, occasionally, for conversations with Geneva. He said nothing personal, of course, because he was still a student and she a teacher, but in subtle ways he expressed his interest. He couldn't tell by her reserved manner whether she reciprocated his feelings or not. As the winter of 1930-31 tapered into spring, and Wilk's graduation approached, he faced the world with high hopes. He had become fascinated with languages, and a few years spent teaching math would give him time to get deeply into German. He sent off applications to every black Texas high school he could think of, and sat back to await the replies. A week passed. He got a rejection, then another. But mostly there was . . . nothing. He couldn't understand what was wrong.
   ...
   His family didn't come, but Geneva did.
   ...
   While Geneva stood by, proudly, the Mayor of Baltimore awarded the Wilk the "Order of the Red Rose" as part of the city's beautification program.
   ...
   Sometimes Geneva went with him, and sometimes she preferred to stay home. For the first time in Wilk's life he felt truly satisfied, a student of the world, just what he'd always wanted to be. Year by year, he could see the hated ignorance retreat. When he wasn't traveling and studying, when there were no more weeds in his yard and when his neighbors' lawn mowers were all running perfectly, he did volunteer work for the Girl Scouts, the Red Cross, the United Fund and other charities. Several days a week he worked as an unpaid multilingual receptionist at the Spanish Apostolate in the 200 block of East 25th street. It made him feel good to help others. They were wonderful years, the best of his life, but sometimes he heard an unsettling reminder of passing time. Sometimes now he thought the teenagers looked at him strangely, even speculatively, and he overheard one say to another something about . . . about that "pitiful old man and that pitiful old car . . . "