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which they were not allowed to use and restaurants in which they could never be served. But for teenagers there were two places where the sting of segregation was most keenly felt: at public swimming pools and at the movies.

The movie theater represents the dating standby for countless generations of teens. In the 1940s movies were affordable entertainment and my parents still have fond memories of riding the streetcar downtown on a Saturday afternoon to spend the day watching movies with their friends. Sitting on the main floor along side their white classmates was never an option, however. Each week they automatically made the long climb up to the balcony, to sit beneath a crudely drawn black hand which designated this section "For Colored Only."

I sometimes wondered if any of the white movie patrons, especially white teenagers, thought this arrangement odd. In talking with my parents they relate that their school was not segregated. Black and white students sat next to each other in the classroom, in the cafeteria, in the gymnasium for pep rallies and in the auditorium for formal assemblies. They had lockers next to one another and my father played on the same football team and ran track with white athletes. Black and white students even used the same restrooms and showered next to each other after P. E. class. Didn't anyone ever think to question, "Why do black people have to sit in this special section at the movies?"

There were two young African-American men, classmates of Mom and Dad who may have also come to this conclusion and decided to have a little fun with this peculiar practice. The two were best friends but known throughout the school as notorious practical jokers. The pair worked in a small local grocery store after school as stock boys and baggers and became close friends with the grocer's son. The grocer had been born in Damascus, Syria and his English was somewhat limited. His young son, having been born in the U. S. spoke both English and Syrian quite fluently and often translated for his father.

The two practical jokers convinced the grocer's son to teach them several key words and phrases in his father's native language. After practicing diligently for several weeks, they decided to pull off the ultimate prank. Raiding their mothers' closets for the best silk scarves and dressing gowns the boys fashioned majestic looking robes and turbans and presented themselves one Saturday afternoon at the Grand Theater ticket window.

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