Four Square, Maya, and Me

I've been asked by several people why the name of my blog is entitled "Letters to Maya Angelou" (well, I haven't really been asked by anyone, but I do anticipate a flurry of inquiries just as soon as someone actually starts reading my blogs). It's a long and fascinating story, but I will tell the short version:

One hot summer day in Arkansas in 1952, my friends and I were playing a competitive game of Four Square. This is what we did most days. We liked to have tournaments and hustle the rich kids out of their money. We were fairly popular but mostly caused trouble. One day, during an especially heated game of Four Square Doubles (two people on each team), we all noticed a dark skinned girl in pig tails walking towards our game. We didn't pay any attention at first because we were so into our game, but suddenly out of nowhere, my partner yells "GET OUTTA HERE, CRAPFACE!". Now, I've said my share of unkind words, but this was definitely uncalled for. To everyone's surprise, I told my partner that I no longer wanted to play with her and that I wanted the new girl to be my partner. That new girl's name was Maya - Maya Angelou. I asked her if she knew anything about the game of Four Square. She said she only knew why the caged bird sings. Puzzled, I told her a few rules and that's all it took to start a beautiful friendship. We didn't lose a single game since that fateful day in 1952. Maya had natural talent!
Maya and I both received prestigious Four Square scholarships to any university of our choice. I wanted to go to Stanford, but Maya had her heart set on Wake Forest. Well, we went our separate ways but still talked every single day using our rotary phones and writing letters. We both excelled in Four Square. As luck (or should I say "unluck") would have it, Maya and I were to play against each other for the National Four Square Singles title. Never in our lives had we ever played AGAINST each other. The President of the United States said that if Maya won, he would enact integration and make segregation a crime. That put A LOT of pressure on me considering my best friend was black. We played our hearts out. I was playing for pride, and Maya was playing for her country. We stayed head to head throughout the entire game. Finally, I looked deep into Maya's eyes and hit the ball out of bounds on purpose. There was a giant gasp from the audience. They were stunned. History had been changed forever. Maya had won, and segregation had lost.
Maya went on to do several talk shows. We eventually lost touch. I hear she is friends with Oprah now. I do think about her every single day, and I'm sure she thinks about me, too. One day I know we'll meet again, but until then I'll just keep on writing letters to Maya Angelou...