Those of you that read this regular series know that I am from Hackett, Arkansas, just a mile or so from the Oklahoma border, and just about 10 miles south of the Arkansas River. It was a redneck sort of place, and just zoom onto my previous posts to understand a bit about it.
When I was in grade school in the second through forth or so grade Bobby Gene was one of the pupils. Hackett was so small that there was only one class for each grade, so everyone of roughly the same age were in the same room. Bobby Gene was in my class. I am not using his last name on the distant chance that he might still be living, but even if here were I promise you that he would not read this.
Bobby Gene was what now would be called a special needs student, and I shall explain why later. He was not a little “slow”, he was profoundly disabled. He also had some physical problems, such as being very slight, and poor motor coordination. These days he would be put into a special needs program and not in a regular class. But we are talking about early 1906s Hackett, Arkansas.