The other day I was out walking and reflecting on fond stories of my father especially as a child. One time in particular, when I was in second grade, attending O'Keeffe Elementary on the southside of Chicago, our class went on a field trip to the Brookfield Zoo. Of course every child gets excited about field trips. It was time to get out of the classroom and have some fun. There was just one thing, Mrs Townsend, my teacher, needed chaperones and I am sure she sent out a notice to all parents and guess who answered the call, my father. My father decided he wanted to be a chaperone and join us on that day. Well the day came and we were headed on the yellow school to Brookfield. All of my classmates were super excited but I was beaming with pride because my daddy was now on the bus. As I looked back at my dad there he was with a leather flask full of water, a tengade hat ( the popular sun hat worn among men in West Africa), jeans, black Dr Scholls sandals and a white t-shirt. Let's just say my father always stood out wherever he went. Plus he told me before we left the house it was going to be extremely hot so we prepared. After some hours we arrived and it's time to divide the class into groups and my dad says "I'll take all the boys". "Mr Nalls I can't let you do that , there are too many" says my teacher. But my dad insisted and I went with another group, didn't want to be around a whole bunch of active boys and honestly I dont remember it being a problem going with someone else. So off we went in our groups and told to return after several hours. Along the way, different groups pass each other and soon I see my dad and his group. By this time I see all the boys have taken the front of their shirts and pulled it over their heads, with exposed chests , like my dad and all shouting "Mr Oye! Mr Oye!". Needless to say there were tons of eyeballs on his group but they didn't care. They continued with excitement until it was time to meet up at the bus. As the field trip came to a close, we all approached the bus and I could hear my dad telling all the boys to pull their shirts back over their head and enter the bus quietly. Honestly,I don't remember my teacher saying a word, I think she was so thankful my father had spent time with the boys but I do remember the next day, the boys asking if my father would be coming on another field trip.
