As a kid I was really attached to my Mom and I basically had separation anxiety. So I understand how he felt when he punched that kid on the bus because he thought something was going to happen to his mom.

I know and understand how many siblings James McBride had and understand that I have no where near as many siblings but having three kids and 2 adults in one house is still a hand full, especially now that we got a dog too.

Ive never really seen store employees or anything mark anything up because of someone else's race/ethnicity.

Race/Ethnicity: Throughout the experiences that James McBride explains in the book we can a pretty clear image of how racism was affected both James and his mother. An example of this could be when Ruth (James' mother) married her first husband, Andrew. Her father wasn't happy about her marrying a black man, in fact her whole family was mad and eventually she wasn't considered family. Another example could be when Ruth would take the kids out and people would utter racist comments under their breath. But even after hearing them she didn't do anything about it because she didn't care about anyone else but her kids.

James, as he always does, was ranting to his mom about things that came across his mind and eventually asked his mom what color, or race, is god. His mom responded with "God is the color of water" (McBride, page 51)

I used this quote in the last part but I really liked it as it really fits the theme of this book and the theme i've been getting is race doesn't matter. Somewhere along those lines.

As James explained in the text he had an imaginary friend to escape reality and believed his true self to be a boy trapped in a mirror "The boy in the mirror, he didn't seems to have an ache on his face. He was free"

It stood out for me because it was a cry for help, it was James' longing for freedom and his desire to escape the pain and hardship he endured.

In the book, James and his siblings go to schools that don't have much money or good stuff because they're in a mostly black area. White kids' schools have better things. This shows how unfair things were because of race, making it hard for black kids to get the same good education. It's a big problem that folks have been trying to fix so everyone can learn the same, no matter their color.

It wasn't really me who experienced it but someone I know told me something that happened to them. But basically my step dad at the time came home one day and told explained to me and my family that a homeless black man was jaywalking and when my step dad rolled down his window to tell him off the homeless man yelled "RACIST, RACIST, WHITE MAN JUST SAID THE N-WORD THIS WHITE MAN JUST SAID THE N-WORD TO ME"

My family is somewhat similar to Jame's but at other times not so much. It's a weird relationship with my siblings but a strong one most of the time were on each others nerves and eventually get my mom angry. But other times we love each other unconditionally.

The only experience I can think of is when Ruth's mother passed away, but for me it was my dad. Now she never knew her mom died I heard about my dad the same day. So I would understand her pain but hers must be way worse since she never found out. Her mom was the only person she actually felt bad for besides her sister. My family isn't very similar but I did feel bad for my dad because he did go through a lot but he wasn't so neglectful as Ruth's father. But on a certain level I can understand her pain and it is a pain that no one should bare.

Dennis loved music more than anything. So much so that he moved to New York to pursue his passion in that field, but it didn't go as he planned "Dennis almost starved to death fooling around with that music" (McBride 194) The thing about his life of music wasn't his skill, he was in fact very talented. It was the fact that no one wanted a black man in their orchestra. If it was today they would've hired him on the spot. They didn't give him any consideration or the attention that he so rightfully deserved, and with that his career sadly met its end.