 At twelve years old, I graduated from elementary school and was appointed salutatorian for the ceremonies. My father was devastated that I hadn't won valedictorian status and wrote my speech for me. He included verses from a song made popular by Frank Sinatra in that decade and considered by my parents a political anthem, "The House I Live In." It was fitting. I can remember the melody, the sound, so well: "The place I live in, the road, the house, the room, the pavement of the highway or a garden all in bloom..." It was a song about tolerance and peace. While I was writing this chapter I discovered a footnote to this incident: the song was written by Abel Meeropol, the man who took in the children of the Rosenbergs after their parents had been executed. At any rate, Annabelle Edwards, whose father was the School Board Chairman and owner of the town's only meat packing plant, was valedictorian instead of me. She was an odd sort, too. |
House I Live In Lyrics: |