I
called the station and told a woman that I was trapped in the boys home office,
and I was afraid Mr. Langston was going to kill me. She heard him yelling and
beating on the door, and I think that's what convinced her that there might be
a good story at the boys home for the local evening news.
It surprised me
to learn how fast an investigative reporter could react to a call. The reporter
and a cameraman arrived at the boys home in less than fifteen minutes. They
entered the reception area, just in time to look down the hall and see Mr.
Langston trying to take apart the door lock to his office. I found out later
that Sean was so afraid for me that he notified the police who arrived a few
minutes after the news crew.
I couldn't see Mr.
Langston's face when he saw his unexpected guests, but Sean told me that his
expression was priceless. I heard him as he attempted to steer the news crew
away from his office, but the woman reporter stubbornly kept redirecting the
conversation to what he was hiding.
I had already
decided that I would hurt Mr. Langston worse than he did me, and while I
listened to him bullshit the reporter, I got the idea to give everyone a better
show when I eventually had to come out of the office. It hurt like hell, but I
socked myself in the face several times until I had the beginnings of some
bruises, a cut lip, and a bloody nose that dripped blood onto my white tee
shirt.
I heard a knock
on the door, and one of the cops asked me to unlock it. I told him I was afraid
that Mr. Langston would beat me again. I even cried loudly, telling the cop how
scared I was. Finally, I opened the door, and it was hard not to grin when I
saw the Latino cop. When he looked at me, his jaw tightened, and he asked if I
was hurt anywhere besides my face. I volunteered to show him my backside, and
he asked his partner to come in the room. I dropped my pants and boxers and pulled
up my shirt. They saw the red welts on my back, buttocks, and thighs, and I
knew from their muttering between each other that Mr. Langston was in trouble.
The Latino cop
nodded his head towards the hall where Mr. Langston was and then spoke to his
partner. "That son of a bitch might not make it to the station." I
had to fight to keep from smiling.
Mr. Langston was
immediately suspended after his arrest, and I felt victorious for one of the
few time in my childhood. During the following investigation by the state, the
boys of color complained of slaps to the face, twisted arms, and beatings with
the paddle. Mr. Langston, who was charged and convicted of multiple counts of
child abuse, was a huge story on the local news. With all the public attention
focused on the case, the solicitor and judge made an example of Mr. Langston by
giving him the maximum sentence allowable under state law.
I thought the
celebrity visit to our open house might be canceled, but the media attention
caused by Mr. Langston's arrest was an even better reason for Senator Paulson
and his wife to pay us a visit. With them, there were two of his aides, a TV
news crew, and a cop in plain clothes. The senator shook hands with every boy,
often pausing and smiling for a picture with his arm around a kid.
He was running
for reelection against a tough opponent, and with the election less than a
month away in November, he needed a publicity boost. At first, I thought that
it was only a visit, but he and his wife planned to show the public that they
were good people by taking a foster boy home to live with them and their two
sons. The Paulsons were state approved foster parents, but they had never
chosen to foster a child until that day.
I noticed right
away that the senator and his wife, who were both white, were polite to the
white boys but focused more of their attention on the minority kids. I didn't realize
at the time how far Senator Paulson was trailing in polls of the Latino
community, which was small, but critical in a close election. I think that the
senator had decided to
called the station and told a woman that I was trapped in the boys home office,
and I was afraid Mr. Langston was going to kill me. She heard him yelling and
beating on the door, and I think that's what convinced her that there might be
a good story at the boys home for the local evening news.
It surprised me
to learn how fast an investigative reporter could react to a call. The reporter
and a cameraman arrived at the boys home in less than fifteen minutes. They
entered the reception area, just in time to look down the hall and see Mr.
Langston trying to take apart the door lock to his office. I found out later
that Sean was so afraid for me that he notified the police who arrived a few
minutes after the news crew.
I couldn't see Mr.
Langston's face when he saw his unexpected guests, but Sean told me that his
expression was priceless. I heard him as he attempted to steer the news crew
away from his office, but the woman reporter stubbornly kept redirecting the
conversation to what he was hiding.
I had already
decided that I would hurt Mr. Langston worse than he did me, and while I
listened to him bullshit the reporter, I got the idea to give everyone a better
show when I eventually had to come out of the office. It hurt like hell, but I
socked myself in the face several times until I had the beginnings of some
bruises, a cut lip, and a bloody nose that dripped blood onto my white tee
shirt.
I heard a knock
on the door, and one of the cops asked me to unlock it. I told him I was afraid
that Mr. Langston would beat me again. I even cried loudly, telling the cop how
scared I was. Finally, I opened the door, and it was hard not to grin when I
saw the Latino cop. When he looked at me, his jaw tightened, and he asked if I
was hurt anywhere besides my face. I volunteered to show him my backside, and
he asked his partner to come in the room. I dropped my pants and boxers and pulled
up my shirt. They saw the red welts on my back, buttocks, and thighs, and I
knew from their muttering between each other that Mr. Langston was in trouble.
The Latino cop
nodded his head towards the hall where Mr. Langston was and then spoke to his
partner. "That son of a bitch might not make it to the station." I
had to fight to keep from smiling.
Mr. Langston was
immediately suspended after his arrest, and I felt victorious for one of the
few time in my childhood. During the following investigation by the state, the
boys of color complained of slaps to the face, twisted arms, and beatings with
the paddle. Mr. Langston, who was charged and convicted of multiple counts of
child abuse, was a huge story on the local news. With all the public attention
focused on the case, the solicitor and judge made an example of Mr. Langston by
giving him the maximum sentence allowable under state law.
I thought the
celebrity visit to our open house might be canceled, but the media attention
caused by Mr. Langston's arrest was an even better reason for Senator Paulson
and his wife to pay us a visit. With them, there were two of his aides, a TV
news crew, and a cop in plain clothes. The senator shook hands with every boy,
often pausing and smiling for a picture with his arm around a kid.
He was running
for reelection against a tough opponent, and with the election less than a
month away in November, he needed a publicity boost. At first, I thought that
it was only a visit, but he and his wife planned to show the public that they
were good people by taking a foster boy home to live with them and their two
sons. The Paulsons were state approved foster parents, but they had never
chosen to foster a child until that day.
I noticed right
away that the senator and his wife, who were both white, were polite to the
white boys but focused more of their attention on the minority kids. I didn't realize
at the time how far Senator Paulson was trailing in polls of the Latino
community, which was small, but critical in a close election. I think that the
senator had decided to
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