I decided sometime this week that I'd use this space to publish the stories I'm writing. The following is a fictionalized version of an incident from my childhood.
1960 in Georgia
Arms pumping, lungs exploding, I ran. Somewhere between the candy store and home, Sue let go of my hand, speeding off in front of me. I remember thinking that I’d never seen anyone move so fast. This must be what Mom meant when she said, “That boy runs like the wind,” as she watched footage of an Olympic track competition on television a short time ago. My sister, ran so fast, I thought she might disappear along with the wind, never to return.
Earlier that day, Sue and I, took the nickels Mom gave us for cleaning our room and walked to the store about a quarter of a mile from the house. Just a few weeks before, Daddy had moved us into a duplex in Warner Robins, Georgia, after the Air Force sent him there for a new assignment. I was five years old, and Sue was six- both of us still young enough to accept the move with little grief about leaving friends and the house we knew in Louisiana.
At the store, I wanted to pick my candy very carefully, so I walked up and down the aisles surveying each and every treat on the shelves. Sue knew what she wanted- candy cigarettes and wax lips, which she quickly picked and headed to the check out counter, entreating me to hurry up. As I turned the corner near the back of the store, I noticed a water fountain with a sign attached to the front.
“Susie,” I called. “Come ‘ere.”
Impatient with waiting for me, she came back to where I was standing, and told me again to hurry up. I was learning to sound out words at the time, and turning back to the water fountain, I said, “What does ‘No ni-nig-niggas’ mean?”
A nearby man, big and overalled with brown spit on the edge of his mouth, boomed, “What does NO NIGGAS mean? This little girl wants ta know what no niggas means! I’ll tell you what… ”
He didn’t have a chance to finish because Sue grabbed me by the hand, causing me to drop my nickel on the floor, and yelled, “Run!”
I didn’t know why we were running, but the urgency in her voice propelled me forward. She pulled away quickly and though I hollered after her to wait for me, she waved her arms and kept going. By the time we reached the house, tears rolled down my crimson face. Sue slammed the screen door, and I cried all the louder.
Hearing the commotion, Mom emerged from the kitchen with,
“Susan Elaine, what on earth is all the noise- and why is your sister crying?”
“She…she…”
“Catch your breath and tell me what is going on- Carol Anne, are you hurt?
I shook my head as Sue began to explain.
“She said a bad word, Mom- right in front of people at the store, and this big man came after us.”
About now, Sue began to sob uncontrollably. Mom looked at me with a big question mark etched across her forehead.
“I read the sign…the sign on the water fountain. I just wanted to know what it meant- that’s all. I didn’t know it was bad, Mom.”
(I'm not sure if the story is finished here or if I should add to it. For now, I'll leave it as is...)
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7 comments:
Sounds vaguely familiar except we didn't live near a store. I guess that's the fictional part, hmmm?
No- I'm not sure where the store was, but that part is true. The sign was also true. The fictional part was the man in the overalls and the run all the way home. And the names have been changed to protect the innocent... :)
I'm thinking about base housing. There was such a store down town and a water fountain that designated blacks or whites. Do you remember when we went to watch the parade with - his name escapes me although I can see him riding his horse in a greasy outfit...some Mexican movie hero?
AAAhhh - The Cisco Kid!
I do remember the Cisco Kid! I got to pet his horse, and I was in heaven. Had an autographed picture, but don't know what happened to it. Maybe you had actually taken us to the store. What I remember very well was seeing that sign and sounding it out- and Jane getting very upset with me. As an adult, I've read about signs saying "Whites Only," but this sign actually said "No Niggas" on it. Does that sound right to you?
Why is it that I want to know is did you guys take your candy without paying for it or did you leave it there? :) Seriously, though, I feel badly for Jane and for you. She was scared to death you were about to get in trouble for saying a bad word and you had no idea you were saying a bad word. I remember lots of scary things from my childhood, including a GHOST that supposedly inhabited a house on Randolph AFB and scared the beejeesus out of all of us kids. :)
I think Jane had already paid for hers and was waiting for me. I ended up not buying anything.
I did see the ghost in base housing. That was the most bizarre thing, but that was before you were old enough to have known about it. It was in the first apt. we lived - on Randolph AFB, when you were a baby. OH-BUT I think you're talking about another ghost- the one everyone said was in the house near your school, right?
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