Thursday April 4th, 1968

by S. A. Miller

  Mr. Perry responds, “No, I’m going to take a few days off. I might go down to Atlanta.”

  “Well, I’ll see you when you get back,” replies Moses.

  “Okay. You take care of yourself, Moses,” replies Mr. Perry.

  And with that, Moses is out the door and back into the night filled with darkness, smoke, and sirens.

  Chapter 7

  Friday, April 5th

  Friday morning, April 5th, 1968 is a warm morning in Harriston. At 10:00 am it is already 72 degrees. A clear blue sky holds no clouds to block the sun’s rays. Moses sits on the porch of his home watching the world go by. Despite the tragedy of Dr. King’s death the day before, most people seem to be going about their lives as usual. Moses’ father, George, decided stay home this day so he could see and hear all of the TV and radio coverage about Dr. King. Moses’ mother, Ethel did go to work, and took little sister, Janet, to the babysitter.

  At about 10:30 am Robert arrives at Moses’ house to hang out. Robert has always been a loyal friend to Moses ever since they met in biology class in junior high. Robert is an outstanding football player, and has several scholarship offers. Robert is not one for confrontation and believes in people doing what’s right. That’s why he had such a harsh reaction to Johnny yesterday. To Robert, being loyal is doing what’s right.

  “Hey, Dude,” Robert says to Moses as he comes up the porch steps. “What’s up?”

  Moses responds, “You got it”.

  The two give each other the “soul shake” as Robert sits down in a chair.

  “You didn’t come back to The Softie Freeze last night,” says Moses.

  “I thought I was,” responds Robert, “but my ol’ man didn’t want me back on the streets. He said it was too many fools being crazy.”

  “That’s what Mr. Perry said,” replies Moses.

  “Yeah, so I chilled at the house ‘til this morning,” replies Robert.

  “Understood,” says Moses.

  “So, you heard anything about the championships?” asks Robert.

  “Nope,” answers Moses.

  “They’re probably going to cancel it. Tuesday is the day of Dr. King’s funeral. And they already closed school on Monday,” offers Robert.

  “Yeah, that’s true, but I don’t know. I mean, if they postpone the meet, then that’s going to mess up going to state,” responds Moses.

  “Yeah, that’s a good point,” replies Robert.

  “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” responds Moses.

  “So, have you talked to Diane since yesterday?” asks Robert.

  “Nope,” replies Moses.

  “She was a little hot,” says Robert.

  “Yeah, she was,” replies Moses.

  “So, don’t you want to talk to her to see if she’s still mad?” asks Robert.

  “Man, I can’t be worrying about Diane’s attitude right now,” replies Moses.

  In a sarcastic tone, Robert says, “Oh excuse me! I didn’t mean to step on your feelings.”

  “You didn’t step on my feelings,” replies a defiant Moses. “I just don’t really care about Diane trippin’.”

  “Alright, alright,” says Robert apologetically. Let’s go over to Weisser to see what’s going on over there.”

  Moses agrees and gets up from his chair to open the front door.

  “Hey Dad! I’m going over to Weisser Park with Robert,” shouts Moses.

  “Alright, y’all be careful,” replies George.

  Moses responds, “We will.”

  “So, your dad didn’t go to work today?” Robert asks.

  “Nope,” responds Moses. “He’s pretty upset about Dr. King.”

  Dang!” replies Robert.

  Moses and Robert leave the porch and head for Weisser Park. Since school was closed, it stood to reason that a lot of the students from Central would be hanging out at the park. When Moses and Robert get to the park, they see a lot of their classmates. Some are playing basketball; some are playing tennis; and some are sitting at a picnic table listening to music from the Dramatics, Delfonics, and Dells on a portable 8-track player. Robert and Moses both play basketball for fun, but not during track season, so they sit at a picnic table where students are playing spades.

  Zack and Duke arrive at the park a few minutes later and sit down with Moses and Robert. Both Duke and Zack are sprinters on the track team. They usually run with Robert and Johnny on the 4 x 100 relay.

  “Did y’all hear?” asks Zack.

  “Hear what?” responds Robert.

  “The championship track meet is definitely going to be held on Tuesday,” states Duke.

  “So, they didn’t cancel it?” asks Moses.

  “Nope,” replies Zack, “but some of the schools are saying they won’t participate because that’s the day of Dr. King’s funeral.”

  “That’s kind of messed up if you ask me,” responds Duke.

  Then Duke has a second thought.

  “Oh yeah, Coach Curry says we have practice Saturday at 2:00 pm at the school.”

  “For real?” asks Robert.

  “For real,” responds Zack.

  Moses now knows for sure that the track meet will happen, so now his decision to run has one less variable.

  “How y’all feel about running on the day of Dr. King’s funeral?” Moses asks both Duke and Zack.

  “I mean it’s sad and all,” replies Zack, “but look man, this is my last shot. I mean, we’re seniors. If I don’t run, there is no next year for me.”

  “That’s the way I feel, too,” adds Duke. “I mean, we can’t go to Atlanta, so I feel like it’s okay to run.”

  “What about you, Moses?” asks Zack. “I heard about you and Johnny getting into it at The Softie Freeze yesterday. Are you going to run?”

  “I think so,” replies Moses, “but I’m getting so much noise from my father, and my girlfriend, and Margaret.”

  “Come on, man,” replies Duke. “I know you’re not trippin’ on Margaret.”

  “I’m just saying that I’m getting a lot of negative talk,” replies Moses.

  “Well, brother, I’m running. I don’t care what anybody says!” states Duke.

  “Me too,” says Zack.

  Chapter 8

  Saturday, April 6th

  It is 3:30 pm. Track practice is over. Most of the runners showed up, except Johnny. The shot-putters, and two high-jumpers did not come to practice. Coach Curry decided to add Mark to the 4 x 100 relay to replace Johnny. With Robert, Zack and Duke, the relay team has a chance, although Mark doesn’t have same speed as Johnny.

  After taking his shower and getting dressed, Moses goes to Coach Curry’s office.

  “Hey Coach, got a minute?” asks Moses.

  “Yeah, come on in Moses,” replies Coach Curry.

  Moses sits in a chair directly in front of Coach Curry’s desk.

  “What’s on your mind?” Coach Curry asks.

  “Well, I know that the meet is Tuesday. And I know you expect us to run, but I’m just wondering if it’s wrong to run on the same day they have Dr. King’s funeral?”

  “Wrong?” Coach Curry loudly replies.

  “Well, maybe not wrong, but maybe disrespectful,” counters Moses.

  “How is it disrespectful?” replies Coach Curry. “I don’t see how running in a track meet is an act of disrespect. Now, those fools out there burning and looting the other night...now that’s disrespectful. Dr. King didn’t die so that fools could act like fools.”

  “Well people like Johnny say we shouldn’t run,” says Moses.

  “And when have you ever paid attention to anything Johnny says?” replies Coach Curry.

  Moses doesn’t have a reply for the coach.

  “Look Moses,” starts Coach Curry, “I can’t tell you what to do. What I know is that we have competed as a team all season. We’ve had a lot of success. Even though we won’t have some of our better team members, I think we still have a chance to win the championship. You
decide for yourself if you want to be a part of the team or not, but Central will be there on Tuesday giving our best.”

  After his meeting with Coach Curry, Moses and Robert start walking home.

  “So, what did Coach Curry say?” asks Robert. “He said he thinks we have a chance to win on Tuesday,” replies Moses.

  “He’s right!” says Robert. “We can win this thing!”

  “Oh, I don’t doubt that,” replies Moses.

  “So, what’s the problem, man?” asks Robert.

  “I don’t know. Maybe I got too many people in my head,” replies Moses.

  “You need to go see Diane,” says Robert.

  “I don’t think that will help anything,” replies Moses.

  “Probably won’t hurt,” says Robert.

  “I don’t know,” a somewhat reluctant Moses replies. “She’s probably still mad anyway.”

  “Well, go see for yourself, dummy,” says Robert. “Look, I’m going home. You go see Diane. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Robert keeps straight, but Moses turns right at the corner. His pace is deliberate making what is normally a three-minute walk, more like ten. He’s not convinced that going to see Diane is going to help him with his dilemma. Nevertheless, he takes the long, short journey.

  Moses rings the doorbell at Diane’s house. With the weather being so warm, the front door is open, so Moses is able to hear and see Diane’s family through the screen door, but he doesn’t see Diane. Diane’s older sister, Cathy, comes to the screen door and holds it open.

  “Hey Moses. What’s up?” says Cathy.

  “Hi Cathy. What’s up with you?” replies Moses.

  “Not much,” answers Cathy.

  Is Diane home?” asks Moses.

  “Yeah, she’s upstairs,” replies Cathy. “So, what you think about Dr. King? It’s really messed up, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah it is,” replies Moses. “He did so much for us.”

  “Yes, he did. That means it’s on us now,” replies Cathy in a determined voice.

  Cathy opens the screen door wider.

  “You want to come in?” she asks.

  “No, I’ll just wait for Diane out here on the porch,” replies Moses.

  “Okay,” replies Cathy. “I’ll go get her.”

  Moses takes a seat on the porch swing. He really doesn’t know what to say to Diane and this really bothers him because Diane and he have not had this kind of tension before. No, the relationship has not always been peaches and cream; or apples and cinnamon. There have been disagreements; there have been differences, but the love between these two has always been enough to overcome any obstacles. This situation, too, will probably be resolved like the others, but Moses’ confusion seems to be clouding a lot of his rational judgment.

  The screen door opens and Diane steps out on the porch. Moses’ first thought was “why does she have to look so good?”. Wearing burnt orange shorts, Diane’s brown legs say “hello” even before she opens her mouth. Instead of walking towards Moses, Diane stands near the door. She speaks first.

  “Hey Moses,” says Diane.

  “Hey Diane,” replies Moses.

  “What’s up?” asks Diane.

  “Not much. What’s up with you?” responds Moses.

  “Just hanging out here at home. I really haven’t felt like going anywhere,” replies Diane.

  “Well, I didn’t know since I hadn’t heard from you since Thursday,” replies Moses.

  “You know my number, and you know where I live,” snaps Diane.

  “I figured you were still ticked off, so I wanted to give you your space,” replies Moses.

  “Who said I was ticked off?” says Diane.

  Moses moves forward to the edge of the swing.

  “Come on, Diane. You know you were ticked because I disagreed with you about running on Tuesday,” responds Moses.

  “I wasn’t ticked, but I was disappointed,” replies Diane.

  “Call it what you want, you didn’t want me to walk you home,” counters Moses.

  “So that’s why you didn’t call or come by yesterday?” asks Diane.

  “I just thought you didn’t want to be bothered with me,” replies Moses.

  “And apparently you didn’t want to be bothered with me,” retorts Diane.

  Moses doesn’t have a reply. He’s not one to try to “bull” his way through a discussion, and knows that Diane has a low tolerance for “bull”, so he remains quiet. Diane leans up against the door, folds her arms, and just looks at Moses. Finally, he stands up.

  “Well, I was just coming back from track practice, and thought I’d stop by to say ‘hi’,” states Moses.

  “Okay,” replies Diane.

  Moses walks towards Diane hoping that maybe, she would be receptive to a kiss. She’s not. Diane stands her ground by the door, arms folded. Rebuffed, Moses steps off of the porch.

  “See you later,” Moses says to Diane.

  Are you going to run on Tuesday?” Diane asks.

  “Probably,” replies Moses.

  Diane’s eyes are filled with sadness. She, too, is conflicted. Moses is her man. She loves him, but she is compelled by her belief that Dr. King was an honorable man who deserved unwavering respect. It is an internal conflict that will never produce a winner.

  Moses knows those sad eyes. He hates them. His instinct is to step back on the porch, take Diane in his arms, and kiss her like he had just won the 100-yard dash, but that move is not going to work this day. Not with this conflict. So instead, he walks away, and no more words are spoken.

  Chapter 9

  Sunday, April 7th

  This is a Sunday morning that George feels like the whole family needs to go to church. Somehow, in his mind, it is important for him and his family to spend some time in a house of worship. All of those other Sundays when Ethel couldn’t coax him to go was not as important as today. He figures that instead of all of that bible talk, Reverend Roberts will preach about the greatness of Dr. King. He figures Reverend Roberts will preach about the evil that permeates America. He figures the Reverend Roberts will preach about how Black folks need to keep up the fight despite the loss of Dr. King.

  And George was not disappointed. Reverend Roberts talked about all of that and more. By the end of the service, George felt better, but he knew he still needed to get through the funeral on Tuesday. For George, losing Dr. King was like losing a family member, and Moses was well aware of his father’s distress.

  At the end of the service, Reverend Roberts shared his opinion about the track meet on Tuesday.

  “Now I understand that they’re still going to run that, there, city championship track meet on Tuesday, and I know our boys from Central are supposed to run. Amen? Now, I also understand that some of the other schools are going to boycott the track meet. Now, be it far from me to tell anybody what to do, but what I would ask is ‘What are you running for?’ Amen? See, in this life, you have to know what race you’re running and why you’re running it. Amen? And see, I...I...I run for my Savior. He gives me the strength to run every day.”

  Many in the congregation voiced their approval at what Reverend Roberts was saying by shouting their own “Amens”. George was one of them, but Moses was not persuaded.

  After church, Moses almost always goes home with his grandfather, Pops. Pops is Moses’ maternal grandfather. His wife, Mamie, died seven years ago, so instead of cooking Sunday dinner the routine is to go to The Hobby House for some friend chicken, then go to Pop’s house for dinner. The other perk for Moses is that Pops always lets him drive his 1967, navy-blue Lincoln Continental. It’s a big car that Pops always keeps clean. Moses’ father is not real generous with his car, so Moses jumps at any opportunity to drive Pops’ car.

  Pops is well known and well respected in the church community. He has been a deacon at Reverend Roberts’s church for the last fifteen years. Besides being a dedicated servant, Pops also sang in a gospel quartet for twenty years. No one can doubt Pops�
� wisdom and insight. He has seen the Civil Rights Movement from its beginning. He has seen violence, discrimination, and injustice up-close and personal. One of the stories told about Pops is that as a young teen in Mississippi, he and two of his friends, Jake and Pete, were walking down a country road near dusk, when some white boys in a pickup truck tried to run them over. The truck stopped, and three white boys jumped out of the truck. Pops and his friends took off, but Jake, tripped, and the white boys caught him and beat him. Jake lived, but Pops was traumatized by what had happened to his friend. Well, as the story goes, about a week later, Pops and Pete, happened to see the three white boys fishing in a little creek in the woods. The white boys were never seen again, and the pickup truck was found somewhere in Ohio, some twelve hundred miles away. Anytime Pops is asked about the story, he always, respectfully, declines to comment.

  On this particular Sunday, George, Ethel, and Janet go home instead of going to Pops, so Moses has Pops all to himself.

  Taking another chicken leg from the bucket, Pops says to Moses, “Pretty good, huh?”

  “It’s always good!” replies Moses.

  “Well, help yourself, there’s plenty,” Pops responds.

  Pops always buys the twenty-piece bucket regardless of who’s coming over for dinner.

  Moses and his grandfather finish their meal, then go to the TV room to watch the NBA playoffs. Moses always likes watching the game on Pops’ twenty-five-inch, Magnavox console, color TV. The TV at Moses’ house is nice, but this is color!

  “You know those Celtics are going to get another one, don’t you,” Pops tells Moses.

  “I don’t know about that,” replies Moses. “The Celtics might not get past the Sixers.”

  “How you figure that?” asks Pops.

  “Wilt and them might get Boston this time,” says Moses.

  “No way,” counters Pops. Russell will take care of Wilt and the rest of those Sixers, then get the Lakers in the Finals.”

  “Pops,” says Moses, “I think you might be wrong this time.”

  “Well, we will just have to see, won’t we?” replies Pops. “And when I’m right, you’ll have to wash the Lincoln in and out.”