They Called Me Mr. Scales

The story is about a young Black kid who had a dream of becoming a professional orchestra conductor. I grew up in a low-income area of Pittsburgh where three steel mills were within a mile radius of my home. The B&O railroad ran through the community, so the young men worked in the mill or on the railroad. I had a different dream than most of the other kids. I knew in 8th grade that I wanted to be a professional orchestra conductor, by then I was very good on the violin and the viola. My community was a sports town and football was king, so I became an outstanding athlete in football and baseball. My teachers always told me that there was no one in that industry that looks like me, so it was a challenge most of the time. The book is about a young Black man who had a dream and all the trials and tribulations that he had to go through to achieve that dream.