The curly-headed, pretty little blonde girl clutched her mother's warm hand as they made their way into the small church. At the tender young age of six, Miriam Posey was the perfect picture of a bright-eyed young lady, eager to learn about the vast new world all around her. The little girl and her mother sat at the front of the church like they religiously did every Sunday morning. Miriam smiled up at the man in the long white robe. She dearly loved her father, the Reverend Posey.
The topic of today's sermon was on brotherly love. Little Miriam wondered why her father didn't speak of 'sisterly' love as she didn't have any brothers. Her little baby sister was peacefully sleeping in the church's nursery where her mother would collect the baby after the church service before they headed to a local cafeteria for Sunday lunch.
The town where Miriam grew up was like any other typical small-town in Alabama. She walked to elementary school with her mother where her mom was one of its teachers. Miriam loved her mother very dearly and wanted to be just like her when she grew up. Being an elementary school teacher was Miriam's dream when she grew up.
It was only several blocks to school but one day as they were walking home, an old beat-up car with a flat tire was pulled-over to the side of the road. A dark-skinned man was sitting on the hood of the car and whistled at them as they walked by. Miriam thought that it was just the black man's way of saying hello to them but her mother hurried them down the sidewalk away from the strange man. She remembered hearing the man snicker as he said, "Momma, I's bets those pretty legs go all the way ups to yo' sweet little white ass."
When they got back to their home, Miriam could tell that her mother was flushed as her face was red and her breathing was heavy. The little girl didn't know why her mother was mad at her.
Her mother sat her down on a stool and bent down so that their eyes met.
"Miriam," her mother said. "Unfortunately, there are men in this world that only think about only one thing and that's sex. All black men want to have sex with white ladies but we just can't let that happen to ourselves. It's just not right and proper. The Bible tells us that we need to treat Negroes as people but the darkies just want to rut with white women like animals and God's teaching just won't allow that. Their terrible lusting ways are against God's will. Do you understand me? You must not even go near little black boys because they'll just get into your panties and do things to you that they shouldn't do. Do you here me?"
"Yes, Mother," was all the little girl could say in response. Miriam was nearly in tears.
That night, the little girl's dreams were clouded with the dark thoughts of the black man luridly whistling at them. She could see the Negro's wicked, lustful smile in her mind's eye. Miriam didn't understand it then, but the erotic dream stuck with her and resurfaced many times as she grew older.
*******
Miriam didn't want to move just before her senior year in high school and leave her old friends behind, but her father was moving up to be the minister in a larger church in the suburbs of Birmingham. She would be going to a new high school where she knew no one. Back at her previous school, Miriam was very popular and was even one of the popular cheerleaders. While her mother wouldn't allow her to have a steady boyfriend, Miriam dated many boys. With her strict upbringing, she never let the boys do much more than a little bit of kissing or light petting. One of the arrogant football players even had the nerve to get mad at her when she pushed his groping hand away from her budding breasts. Miriam had earned the dreaded nickname of 'Ice Queen' but she was still very determined not to let those nasty boys take advantage of her. She planned on saving herself for her husband on their wedding night like a good little girl should.
*******
One of the things that was definitely different from her previous school was that this one was integrated with 'coloreds.' The city's fathers had combined the high school in town, Booker T. Washington High School, with the one in the suburb, General Robert E. Lee High School. The new school was now just called Lee High School and they changed the name of the school's mascot from 'The Rebels' to 'The Black Panthers' to pacify the many blacks on the new school board. This was during the time of much civil unrest and turbulent times for all.
Fortunately for Miriam, her family moved to her new home in time for her to try out for the new school's cheerleading squad. She easily made the team from her being a cheerleader at her previous school.
The cheerleader outfits that they wore were much more risquΓ© than what she had worn at her old high school. The new outfits were patterned after one of the professional football team's cheerleading outfits which consisted of a short skirt that revealed the girl's midriff and belly button. The top was just a little more than a bra with some fringe on it. They also wore white patent leather 'Go-Go' boots. Their hair was required to be up in a ponytail so they looked similar. The cheerleader sponsor, Mrs. Bird, was very particular with 'her' girls.
Mrs. Bird was one of the most popular teachers and Miriam wanted to be just like her. Not only was the pretty blonde teacher the cheerleader sponsor, she was also the art teacher. Mrs. Bird was only a few years older than her own students. She had studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and was considered a specialist in obscure and unknown art and paintings. The pretty teacher had golden blonde curls similar to Miriam's and their bright sky-blue eyes seemed to be laughing together.
Mrs. Bird was also an avid photographer and took photos of the many works of art that she explored with a passion. She would project the slide on one of the few bare walls in the classroom. During her art class she would lecture on the different types of medieval paintings she had discovered while in Europe. One of them she called, 'The Original Sin.'
The painting was set in the Garden of Eden. In the apple tree, a Devil as a python wrapped itself around one of the tree's branches and grinned wickedly at the scene before him.