![]() ![]() ![]() While other members of the Class of '99 partied at the beach, Greg hosted a reception to thank all the teachers, counselors, administrators and school district officials for their support. Plainclothes police, mindful of the recurring threats against Greg, also were in attendance. A television crew from '60 Minutes' filmed his speech to the graduating class, and he lost a baby tooth onstage. Greg finished high school in two years, with an A-plus average. Sing it softly as ever you can-Lest the song get out of hand. Adults walked him to class, where he made himself count silently to 25 before raising his hand, so others might have a chance to answer, so he might have a treasured half a minute of seeming like the rest. Teachers took Greg off the grading curve to quell the resentment. ![]() The gifted students were the worst, seething with jealousy over the little boy who had suddenly infiltrated their elite ranks, merrily hopscotching from second grade to ninth in a single year. Gregory Smith recognized the Langston Hughes verse from his honors high school English class the sender was almost certainly a classmate. Sing it softly, for the song is wild, it began. The first death threat, veiled in a poem, came when he was 8 years old.
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