GrowingOlderHopeWiser

I spent six months at South Florida Military Academy in 1971. It was a private Cuban school in Miami, Florida. The school was in its early days. I was in the highest grade they had available at the time, 10th grade. I was the only girl in the all-boys classroom. There were only two of us with top grades: my best friend Orestes and I. Our classmates spent their time rubbernecking, trying to copy our work.

Our small class grew close, even with our teacher, so we took a short park day trip. I got permission from my mother to go to a park. But, the boys and the chaperon teacher decided to go to the beach. This was further than my mother thought I was going. 

At the time, I was living in Miami Beach. When the boys dropped me off, I asked them to leave me at the corner nearby. I did not want them to drop me at my house. I did not want my mother to know. We had gone to the beach. We did this instead of going to the park near the school. Behold, my younger sister was already at the corner. She ran to tell my mother that I was in a van full of boys. Needless to say, I was in trouble with my mother.

We did not speak for over a week. I got sick with strep throat from swimming in the bayside. I would not talk to my mother until it got so bad. I ended up at Miami Children’s Hospital with Rheumatic fever. The Cardiologist said it was the worst case he’d seen in a long time. I ended up in Cardiac ICU for two weeks.

The lead ICU nurse was an old-school Cuban who practiced Santeria while my mother dabbled in It as well. Santeria is a mixture of Afro-Cuban and Catholic religions. The statues are Catholic saints, but their names are African. The nurse put a big red bow on my head, and Orestes decided to visit. He was hysterical and laughed when he saw me. I was beet red to match my bow.

One day, I was in the ICU. My mother brought in a live white dove. She also brought a wooden cross, much to my chagrin. I just rolled my eyes. This was supposed to ward off evil spirits.

I survived Rheumatic fever, ICU, and Santeria. I finished the 10th grade but did not return to South Florida Military Academy.