Junebug by Wilson Edward Reed PhD

Author:Wilson Edward Reed, PhD [Wilson Edward Reed, PhD]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
Published: 2024-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

June 5, 1969

I’m here at Aunt Fran’s and Uncle Cecil’s. Tonight, I’ll be sleeping in my own room. I’m going to bed soon with a full stomach and clean sheets. Seattle is a far cry from Vicksburg. That is easy to see, but it will take a few weeks before I understand everything she was explaining to me. One thing I know for sure, Aunt Fran is going to be lighting a fire under me to get moving.

Today was like a big, old-fashioned homecoming. Love wrapped me up in a big quilt of love I haven’t felt since Mama died. After everyone left, the three of us sat down at the kitchen table for a glass of milk. Aunt Fran delivered a speech— one that I keep reciting in my brain over and over again.

She said, “Boy, what’s mine is yours. You are the son I always wanted. Come and go in and out of the house freely, eat food in the fridge, and shoot pool until eleven o’clock at night. You can use the upstairs or downstairs bathroom.”

I’d never heard the words, “What is mine is yours,” and didn’t understand what she meant. Then there was the word ‘boy.’ That bothered me for about five minutes until I understood she was telling me she loves me and wants to help me. She meant it in a kind way, not the ‘you ain’t nothing’ way that I heard when it fell from Wither’s tobacco-stained lips.

Tonight, I can go to sleep feeling like I’ve arrived at a place far from the reach of Jim Crow, where folks have nice homes, cars, jobs, and opportunity. I feel like I’ve found heaven on earth.

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