Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall

Author:Susan Crandall [Crandall, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, General, Historical, Coming of Age
ISBN: 9781476740041
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2013-07-02T05:00:00+00:00

Miss Cyrena stopped at a gas station and gave me a dime to buy a bottle of Co’Cola from the red cooler out front. When I lifted the lid and stuck my hand down in that icy water to pull out a bottle, I wanted to jump in with my whole self. Between my red rage and my shame over making trouble, I was plenty hot.

I fished out a sliver of ice and run it on my neck. Then I pried off the cap with the bottle opener on the side of the cooler. I took such a big swig, it burned my throat going down.

Miss Cyrena drove us to a park near her house and stopped the car under a tree. There wasn’t any kids playing, but I could see why. This park didn’t have swings or anything, just a worn path between invisible bases where some kids had played baseball. Miss Cyrena said the city didn’t come mow in this part of town very often, so the men in her neighborhood took turns doing it. She said some of them only had a nonpower mower; some no mower at all.

“How do they cut the weeds”—I couldn’t call it grass—“then?”

“They use an old-fashioned scythe.”

When I didn’t know what that was, Miss Cyrena explained it. It sounded real tiring.

“They must like their kids a lot,” I said.

“They do it for the community. We have to look out for each other, especially when things are difficult.”

“Are they difficult now?”

She sighed and nodded. “And only going to get worse I’m afraid. Change doesn’t come without struggle.”

“Change? Like what you was talkin’ about the other night?”

“Um-hmm. The fight for civil rights is just now sparking. They’ll be a firestorm before it’s over.”

I thought of the TV news film I’d seen back in Cayuga Springs of colored people getting drug off stools at a lunch counter, and another where they was attacked by police dogs. I asked if that was what she meant.

She spent some time telling me about the things that the N-double-A-CP was doing and how much trouble they was getting in.

“Just in the South?” I asked.

“Most, not all. Have to start where the problem is the most glaring, then it can spread.”

“I don’t want you or Eula to do it. I don’t want you to get chewed by police dogs or yanked out of a store and arrested.”

Miss Cyrena looked at me and put her hand around my shoulder. “You’re a good girl, Starla. Don’t ever let your pure heart change.”

I wasn’t sure how a heart could change, but didn’t want to talk about such frustratin’ stuff anymore—especially while I was staring at the pitiful colored-kids park. I drank my Co’Cola and thought about how maybe when I got older I could help get some swings for this playground.

After a bit, Miss Cyrena started talking again, this time about Eula’s pies and all the people who might be customers. It was a nice time and got my jitters settled down some.

Then we drove back and delivered the rest of the stuff, to two restaurants and three people’s houses.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.