It began as the GODFATHER OF MATH, evolved into the GOODFATHER OF MATH. Now this. Go figure...

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The kind of humor I like is the thing that makes me laugh for five seconds and think for ten minutes = G. CARLIN...Stain glass, engraved glass, frosted glass
–give me plain glass = JOHN FOWLES ... Music is the mathematics of the gods=PYTHAGORAS ... Nothing is more fluid than language = R. L. SWIHART
I cannot live without the oxygen of laughter = DAWN POWELL ... !!! ... But laughter cannot survive without the hydrogen of gravitas = PAUL OLIVERIO
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Sunday, May 19, 2024

My Antonio ... At The School Named For A Confederate General

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A self-desrribed chollo,
Antonio Villa____ told me
that three of his California cousins
were students of mine
at Jefferson High School
in South-Central
Los Angeles
 
I correctly named 
the street gangs 
his chollo cousins were
associated with
but we both knew
we were BS-ing
each other
 
Three months after retiring
at the ripe age of 55
—the year was 2004—
I both moved to Virginia
and got a Math position
—for the next school year—
at 
in Rockingham County
 
Mr. Ashby had been 
a Confederate General
and the primary means
of income
in Rockingham County
was poultry processing
 
As another student described it:
"Chickens are no longer beheaded,
they are processed." 
 
Latinos  at Turner Ashby
accounted for less than 
one percent of the 
student population
 
Caucasians comprised 98.7%
of the faculty
 
Three black or Latino teachers
were all in "Special Ed"
 
The other faculty/staff
of Turner Ashby were  
of Asian descent
 
My sister's four children
all graduated with honors
from 
—also in Rockingham County—
 
My eldest niece
described Samuel Spotswood
 as a "Procurer"
during the Civil War
and the school's secret nickname
was the "PIMPles"
 
The secret logo
featured big-bottomed girls
in the 19th Century
equivalent of
"Hot Pants"
 
The mixed-case spelling
of the secret nickname
was exactly
as my niece described
 
Antonio Villa_____
was a mediocre Math student
of mine
until his other teachers
willingly issued him 
bathroom passes
 
Those passes were for
 almost entire period lengths
during which
Antonio "hung out"
in Mr. Oliverio's
classroom
 
By Christmas,
Antonio had the highest 
grade scores in
his Algebra class
 
Before Easter,
he had learned everything
an Algebra II student
needed to know
 
But pre-Calculus
was learned entirely
on his own
because Oliverio
was incapable
of teaching it
 
All I did was
provide textbooks
either stolen from the school
or purchased at
my own expense

 The last correspondence
I had from Antonio
was in 2010
by which time
I relocated to Long Beach

He was about to become
the first Latino
full professor
in the Math Department
at the 

The school was designed by 
who doubled as 
a President of
the United States
 
Honestly,
I have no idea
of what a "full professor"
is
 
BUT
—like I previously said about Malcolm X—
I love you Antonio
 
However
that is an incomplete statement
because it has nothing to do
with my sexual preference
 
The complete statement is
I love you Antonio FLL
[ditto for Malcolm X]
 
I love you FuckLessLy
 ***

© Oliverio ©
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