Ms. Rizo-The influence of my grandmothers, you know, we are a result of what we lived and the things I lived in West Dallas, not just the discrimination, but I was bullied, you know, because of the way I dressed, the way I acted, and if I didn't carried on the way that I was raised, then I would get in trouble at home, you know, and at school, I couldn't dress sloppy because my grandparents would learn about it. One time, something happened at school and by the time I got home, my grandmother already knew about it and it wasn't because the principal called her, it wasn't because the teacher called he, it was because somebody got home before I did and told their mother and that lady went and told my grandmother. Ok, so, when the time my mother got home from work on the bus, you know it was, you know, it was like a big theatrical drama when all I done was get in trouble for talking too much in class, you know. I mean, I couldn't get away with anything, I mean you just can't know in our neighborhood and community, everybody knew everybody and you couldn't get away with it, they were nothing, Lol! I couldn't get away with saying ain't, lol! So, um, I don't know how much more you want, I mean there's a lot to your question. Um, I had the opportunity cause I was a good student, I had a lot of reasons and motivation to learn. I didn't wanted my mother to be embarrassed because I made bade grades because she works so hard and my dad too, he would write to me and check on me. You know, ask my aunt and grandparents about my visits on the weekends, so he kept up with me too and I didn't want anybody in the family to feel embarrassed that I wasn't doing my best. So, I got to do a lot of things at school. Um, my grandmother didn't wanted me to be playing outside, remember, the polio scare that they thought if you played out in the sun too much, you would get polio before the vaccine. And, um, I wasn't allowed to play outside in the sun, I couldn't go to anybody's house, I couldn't come home anybody to come play with me. So, they got me piano lessons, I went downtown every Saturday for a private piano lesson and I got a piano and when I came home from school, when I came home from school, I was expected to sit at the piano at least one to one and half hours to practice and we never got any homework. Any assignments we got, I winded up doing it in school before I ever left. did like reading, one of my teachers found out I went downtown every Saturday for piano lessons and said, "Why don't you go down to the library and get a library card." I said, "Oh, Ok" So, um, I told my mother cause she worked on Saturdays downtown that's where the dress factory was, that the teacher suggested I do that, and she says, "Well, go do it." And, you know, back then, a seven or eight year old child, it was no big deal to be by yourself downtown, it was, you know. Interviewer-Did your ever feel like you couldn't go to certain places when you were in downtown because of your skin color or your." Ms. Rizo-No, but then I was really instructed and ordered to just go straight to where I was supposed to be going, do what I was supposed to do and come back. And, my mother would say usually after my piano lesson, to just wait for her there at the music company, it was on Elm Street and she worked on Pacific, you know where the, (is it the channel 4 studios now?) that used to be [?] Sportsware, lol!.......