Before Grits Were Grocery Part III

As the summer dragged on Saturdays were always something me and Casa looked forward to. That’s when daddy would take us out with him on his boat. We would fish all day and just be with daddy. I really hated fishing, but loved being with daddy. Something told me that if I stayed close enough to him I would be just like him when I grew up. I wanted a wife like his and two sons just like him. First I had to get me a job so I could pay for a good wife like mama; daddy always told me that a good woman didn’t come cheap. So I think he had to pay a lot for mama and she gave him me and Casa as change. I love being in this family and planned on being in it forever.

 

We had a bucket of fish by the time the sun got too hot and started to head back home when daddy decided to get some crabs for mama. We pulled up in the marina and daddy docked the boat and then he started digging in the bucket to get one of the smaller fish out. He had Casa cut the fish into smaller pieces then tied some twine around each piece. Daddy then took the fish and twine and tossed it in the shallow pool just outside the marina. I held one of the lines with the fish pieces tied to the twine and daddy held the other. Casa had the net to scoop the crabs up as we lured them in with the cut fish. Man, I really didn’t like this, but it was for mama and I would do anything in the world for her. I sat there and watched the crabs surround the bait and I slowed pulled the line. The trick was to pull the line real slow so that the crabs would follow the meat and not realize they were being lured in and just when they got close enough Casa would catch them in the net. We did this a few times until we had a nice bucket of crabs for mama. She would be so happy, mama loved crabs.

 

Later that day when we got back home and cleaned up, me and Casa walked down to Mackenzie’s to see if she wanted to come over and eat with us. When we got there, we did our secret knock on her window, but we got no answer. We knew she was there because her bike was lying on the ground and her father’s truck was in the yard. We knocked again and called her name, Casa climbed up on a cinderblock and looked in her window. I asked Casa if he could see her and his face looked strange to me, like I had never seen him look before. I said, “is she in there?” Casa just looked in the window ignoring me with a blank face. He jumped down and said come on Ty let’s go. “Casa, was she in there?” Yeah, she’s in there, but her daddy was doing something to her that didn’t look right. Daddy’s ain’t suppose to be with their children like that. Like what Casa? I don’t know and I don’t wanna talk bout it. I stopped him from walking and spun him around, what did you see boy? He started to cry and ran home. I didn’t know if I should walk back to Mackenzie’s or go catch up to my brother. I stood there for a minute and decided to go catch Casa.

 

When I got home I didn’t see Casa so I ran upstairs and there he was on mama’s lap crying his eyes out. Mama was crying too and she motioned for me to come over. She hugged me tight and called for daddy to come upstairs. Daddy ran up the steps only hitting two or three stairs as he knew something was not right. Mama lifted Casa’s head and asked him to tell daddy what you told me. Casa couldn’t or wouldn’t speak, C’mon baby tell daddy what you told me, said mama. Casa wouldn’t speak and daddy rubbed his head and then asked me what happened? I told him we just went down to Mackenzie’s to see if she wanted to eat with us, was that wrong daddy? No son, you know Mackenzie is always welcome in this house. So what did she say? Well, we knocked on her window, but got no answer, so we knocked again and still she didn’t come out. So Casa got on that cinderblock and looked in the window and just looked really crazy like he was looking at a dead person. Then he jumped down and ran home. Mama was still cradling Casa and was just getting him to open up. Casa starts to tell us what he saw, but started to cry again and mama said, “it’s okay baby boy, you don’t have to say anything right now”. Y’all ready to eat? Mama said? I’m gonna go and put some of those nice fish on the grill. Come on Ty and help me.

 

WHAT SAY YOU??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before Grits Were Grocery Part II

I’m sorry. Let me introduce myself. I’m Ty. I’m 10 years old and you already know Robert Jr., the one we call Casa. He’s 7.

We live with our mother, Lisa, and our father, Robert Sr..I don’t how old there are, my mother won’t tell me.
Our town is a small one. Daddy says it’s good to not live around too many people. Our town is on a small island right off the coast of South Carolina. My granddaddy gave it to us–the house not the island. Our nearest neighbor lives a short distance away and they have a little girl my age. Her name is Mackenzie. Mama says she’s a tomboy–whatever that is. All I know is she can catch frogs and crawfish better than Casa and me. She can run fast too. But not faster than me. She ain’t scared to climb all the way to the top of the Chinaberry tree either.

One day when the three of us were sitting under the plum tree eating green plums with salt, outta nowhere Casa says, “Mackenzie, I’m gonna marry you and we can eat green plums and climb trees all the time”. Mackenzie jumped up and smacked Casa across his lips and took off running toward her house. Casa sat there for a minute with his hand over his mouth. When he finally dropped his hand, he had a big smile on his face–”She loves me.”, he says. I just shook my head and said, “Let’s go, Casa. It’s almost suppertime.”

When we got home, daddy was in the kitchen cooking and we just stood there trying to understand what it was we were seeing. We had never seen daddy cooking before. Daddy turned around and said, “Don’t just stand there like two drunken possums. Go wash your hands.  Supper is about ready.”
“Okay.”, we said in unison, snapping out of our disbelief. 

The thing about daddy that I could never quite say how was that he was a man for sure—but he didn’t tell the world that and did he didn’t need big muscles or a big booming voice for it either. He  just was a man whenever he showed up.

“Where mama?” ,asked Casa.
“She’s not feeling well.  So, I decided to fix supper while she rest.”, said daddy.
“What’s wrong with her?”, I asked.
“She’s just a little tired is all.  Now go wash up. We’re having fish and grits. And, I know how much you two love fish and grits.”
We ran upstairs to wash our hands…..We did love fish and grits. But, Casa went to mama’s side and tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey mama”, Casa said as he rested his head on her stomach.
“Hey, baby. You hungry? Your father is making supper tonight.”
“Yes, mama. I’m real hungry.”
“Well, go wash your hands baby and go eat.”
“Mama, you okay?”
“Yes, Casa. I’m just a little sleepy. That’s all.”
Mama rubbed Casa’s head and reassured him that she was fine and for him not to worry about her.  Her job was to worry about him.
Casa didn’t believe mama, but his stomach with those green plums rolling around in it spoke and convinced him to go get some of that fish and grits. 

We sat eating and enjoying each other while daddy told us his many fishing stories that held us captivated. Those stories always made supper so much better. But, mama was missing and her laugh was missing and Casa was not all there either. After three pieces of crispy Florida Brim and daddy’s creamy grits, I was as full as a tick and about to blow. Casa was just finishing his second piece of fish when he looked up and mama  was standing there grinning. “Look at my beautiful men.”, mama said. “Hey, baby. You feeling better?”, daddy asked.
“Yes. Just looking at you all down here has made me feel brand new.”
“Mama, you want me to fix you a plate, the grits are still hot?”, I asked.
“Okay, Ty. But, not too much.”, she answered.  We sat with mama while she ate and daddy cleaned up. Casa was beaming with that Casa smile.  

The next day Casa asked me about mama and if I think she’s telling us the truth about being tired. I really don’t know and all I do know is they love us a lot and there are some tadpoles that are waiting for us to come and rescue them. We found ourselves out back down by the little creek that ran by the house looking for tadpoles when Mackenzie came over. “Hey, Casa. Hey Ty.”, she greeted us. “Hey Mackenzie”, we both said.
“What y’all doing?”
“Just looking for some tadpoles. You wanna help?”, I said.
“Okay”,said Mackenzie. But, I know where some are–Let’s go. We raced to the upper part of the creek where it pushed up out of the ground and joined a big pool before taking it’s journey to the ocean. 

Mackenzie kicked off her shoes and got into the middle of the shallow pool, with it’s cool water swirling around as it came out of the ground. Casa and me got in the pool as well. The water felt so good in this hot sun that we forgot all about the tadpoles; they would have to be rescued another day.

I’ve had a few people make comments to me personally about the “switches” in part one. It was a fact of life in southern homes. My grandmother had switches all over the house during the summers when ALL of her grandchildren were running around and making mischief. She rarely had to take them out as a look from her was all it took for us to straighten up and fly right as she would say. In this story mama loves her boys and would never abuse them in any way. I put the “switches” in mainly as a symbol of discipline that was a last resort. These people though not wholly real are human. Thank you for reading my little story and please continue to visit and share. 

Before Grits Were Grocery.

Mama don’t play and he knew it. My little brother Casa came running into the room rubbing his eyes and heaving, mama had just put a switch to his little butt. Mama had switches all over the house and always at the ready for smart mouthed, rough little boys. Casa had just put a run in mama’s last good pair of stockings and she was already running late for church.

My little brother from the time he was born loved women. Whenever daddy picked him up to calm down his fussing, Casa would stop for a minute until he realized the person that held him up didn’t have any breast for him to rub on and the screaming would start again. Daddy said it was a cry of disappointment. Whenever mama’s sisters would come over Casa’s eyes would alway light up at all the soft orbs he had to fondle and from one sister to the next he would go. Daddy said that boy would be the next Casanova and the nickname stuck. 

Mama never missed church nor was she ever late. She would be up on Sunday morning with the stereo blaring her gospel music and bacon in the pan. She had us up as well, all except daddy who didn’t care for church at all. He said, “preachers were pimps and Jesus was weak”. “How is Jesus gonna save me when he couldn’t even save himself?”, daddy would say. Mama put up with this only because she knew what side her bread was buttered and she also loved daddy more than any church or Jesus. Daddy was a good provider and always took care of home first and be damned the rest. The two had met about a year after I was born and they have never spent one night apart. He had always accepted me as his very own and that was the big and little of that issue. I felt the same as him; the only father I had ever known and would ever acknowledge. And mama knew daddy was their to pay the bills when Jesus didn’t bother.

This morning mama was running late and she was flying around the house trying to get us and herself ready to leave for church. Casa being Casa always waited for mama to put on her stockings because he liked to rub the backs of her calves with the tight nylon stretched across them. Little boys hands can be rough and Casa’s hands were. When he rubbed mama’s stockings the nylon tore and it started to run. When mama saw this she hit the roof and grabbed one of her ever present switches and gave Casa two fast chops across his backside. Casa came running into the room with mama right behind him, Robert Jr. mama said, you know I don’t like doing that. Mama, you love doing that, you got switches all over the house I said in my head. Mama continue–I’m sorry sweetie, but that was my last pair of stocking and I’m late as it is–mama sorry baby. Casa grinned that big grin and she was once again wrapped around his little finger. Now mama had to make a choice, go to church bare legged or wear the stockings with the run in them. Bare legged was out so the damaged stocking would be going to church with us today. By now daddy had came in to see what was going on, he saw the run in mama’s stockings and whispered something in her ear and they both almost collapsed in each other arms laughing. Mama looked back at us two and said we could stay home today, we looked each other and started for the door. She stopped us and said, “y’all better change your clothes before you run outta here”, gladly we did and in the wind we were. 

To be continued  

  

Rest In Peace. Richie Havens son of Woodstock, father of the times.

The Beast in Florida: A History of Anti-Black Violence

Reblogged from The Florida Bookshelf:

Brand new and available today - click on the book title for even more information.

The Beast in Florida: A History of Anti-Black Violence

by Marvin Dunn

Pubdate: 2/5/13

“Marvin Dunn has written an important chronicle of the most disturbing, yet little-known, racial atrocities in Florida history. The Beast in Florida is a catalog of the underbelly of Florida—a lineage of race riots, lynchings, and cold-blooded murder that is as much a part of the Sunshine State as bathing beauties, palm trees, and alligators.”—Ben Green, author of 

Read more… 192 more words

Overgrown

I’ve been a fan of James Blake for a while now, but when his new album dropped I was glad to see it and more glad to hear it. I’ve been told that my musical taste is somewhat odd, I don’t see it as such of course. Anyway, this song needs to be heard and though I’m not really a big fan of music videos, methinks this one is pretty good.

Peace, Jesus.

P.S. this one is even better