I hate to admit I still feel ashamed when ridiculed for my speech.
I can’t remember not being teased. In Arizona, kids laughed out loud. I quit talking. When I came to Iowa I was given funny looks and often told, “I can’t understand you. You talk different.”
It’s not the way I warsh me clothes, but the way I say it, tells yall I’m from dirt poor folks.
I can laugh at myself: the first president of the United States was Gawrge WaRshington. Today I waRshed me clothes.
All those years feeling ashamed when ridiculed for my speech helped me become the best writing tutor, therapist, and mentor one could have.
Poor speech or writing is not a sign of low intelligence.
Alls I can say is, we need to be kind to each other. And I gotta put me waRshed clothes away now theys dry.
