Ollie and The Kid

“Did you read the assignment, and prepare, as I told you?”

“Yes colonel.  It was hard —stayed up all night reading about WWII.  Hardest thing I ever did.  I had no idea how damn close we were to losing out country then.  That was a shit war of hell.”

“That’s for sure, Jerome.  But tell me, what was the most interesting fact about your reading?”

“Lots of things, but I think it ain’t much better than learning about them Tuskegee Airmen!”

“No, instead you say, “The best part of my reading was to learn about the Tuskegee Airmen.  Don’t say ain’t anymore, when you are talking to someone or writing.  Also, there is no such thing as them airman. It should be those airmen.

Jerome looked down at his feet, a little sullen, then said, “Yes sir.”

Ollie smiled, used his cane to help himself out of his chair and lead Jerome to the classroom and they entered the room about three minutes before the bell sounded.  Jerome took a seat, this time in the front row, rather than the back with the other rowdies.  The rowdy hoods just stared at Jerome, speechless, now that he is in the front row, quiet, and opening his book and reading before Ollie started.  No one threw any objects, or cursed or attacked Ollie.  But someone in the back couldn’t help himself:

“Hey Jerome ­­—you is a damn Uncle Tom kissing ass and you think you is better than us gangstuhs.”

Jerome stood up.  Turned around, while Ollie watched quietly, as did every other student in the History High School Class 41, Chicago Illinois.  They stared, waiting to see what Jerome would say.  “First off Jimmie, it’s not you is, it’s you are.  Second, it is not you think you is, it is you think you are…   Now, I may have been a gangstuh, as you said, but now, the colonel got me out of jail for my gangstuh behavior with some kind of miracle phone call to someone with power and I now understand that if you do not work hard and get an education, you have no hope in life.  I suggest you do the same Jimmie, and don’t interrupt us in class anymore or I’ll kick your ass. Ollie may be an old man, but he has a wealth of knowledge to give to us, and he seems to know how to get things done in life.  But more important, Jimmie, and the rest of you, he is the only one in my life who really cared, and wanted to show me the truth in life, painful as it was.”

Jimmie sat down and could not utter another word.   He looked around the class and the other students glared at him, then looked back up front to Ollie who was at the blackboard, writing.

“Did each of you read the fifty pages on the early days of WWII?  If so, raise your hands.”

All hands went up except for two or three.  “Very well then, I am going to ask for a few volunteers to tell the class very briefly, what was the most impressive part of your reading, and why.”

A skinny girl with red and green hair stood up and said, “Pearl Harbor.  I didn’t know that was in Hawaii.  Also, didn’t know that was the start of our involvement in WWII, despite the fact that Britain wanted us in long before.  And then Churchill…”

“Very good Angela.  You are right.  Who else wants to volunteer to discuss something that impressed them in their reading?”

Jerome got up, and proudly addressed Ollie, then turned around and addressed the class, like an orator: “The Tuskegee Airmen.”

“Excellent Jerome.  Now tell us a few words about these men, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure, thing Colonel.   There was a gasp in the room with people whispering, why did he call him colonel?

Jerome continued, “The Tuskegee Airmen was a squadron of the first black military pilots and personnel in the U.S.  They had exceptional skill and bravery, and flew more than 15,000 sorties and 1500 combat missions in Europe and Africa against the Nazis.”

Thanks Jerome.  Yes, they received the Congressional Gold Medial in 2007.  And how did you feel after reading about them, Jerome.”

“Such skill and bravery.    Hard work pays off.  I now want to be a pilot too, colonel.”

“Well class, we learned a lot today about WWII, a very important time in world history.  Many lessons to be learned.  But the most important is that War is hell.  War must be avoided at all costs, but we must have a strong military to defend against those who attack us, and believe me, there are many who want to.  So, my assignment for each of you is to write a 1000-word essay on your favorite part of WWII and explain why you feel it is important to know about this history now, in 2026.  Please remember to use good grammar, and do not use AI.  I can figure out AI writing. If you use AI, you get an automatic F. It will be due in 1 week.”

The now quiet class left without any fighting or cursing at Ollie and the room found itself empty except for Jerome and Ollie.

“Mr. Ollie, thank you for kicking my ass and teaching me the important things in life and showing me that I was a damn punk.  But more importantly, thanks for caring when no one else did.

Ollie smiled and walked away, singing, I wanna be an Airborne Ranguh, live a life of sex and danguh…”

© 2026 SRCarson Publications