Workin' Our Way Home by Ron Hall

Author:Ron Hall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2018-01-24T05:00:00+00:00

49

DENVER

One mornin I walked in Mr. Ron’s office and seen him cryin. I ain’t really seen him cry since the first few years after Miss Debbie passed. I knowed he’d spent a lot of time worryin ’bout the book, tryin to figure how we was gonna get rid of that pile in the livin room. I turned ’round, tryin to slip out and let the man be.

“Denver, we got rejected by the Texas Book Festival,” he say, holdin up the letter. He show me where it was signed by Miss Debbie’s friend and even the first cousin of Mr. Ron’s son-in-law. They wrote him a note sayin there was no place in their festival for a book like ours.

Since this was the onliest book I knowed ’cept the Bible, I couldn’t really figure out what kinda books they was lookin for. The onliest thing I could come up with is maybe they didn’t think folks would like to read ’bout poor homeless niggas that is ex-cons.

I commenced to scoldin Mr. Ron like he was a little boy, tellin him we didn’t write this book for book festivals or TV shows, so we didn’t need to put no faith in those. He looked at me kinda funny, like he didn’t like what I was sayin. But then I reminded him who we did write this book for, and that was Miss Debbie. And even more important, we wrote it for God, ’cause it was really His story.

Then I stared him down and told him very serious to never—and I meant never—ask nobody to do nothin for our book, ’cause we was gonna give it to over to God and let Him take care of His bidness.

I believe He did, ’cause a few weeks later things started heatin up. Mr. Ron even ordered more books, so then we gots a pile of ’em in our house nearly tall as me. Ever day we put a few in the trunk of his car and sell ’em at white ladies’ Bible studies and book clubs. Seemed like ever day we was goin to another rich white lady’s house to tell our story. Lord have mercy, I ain’t never worked so hard since I left the plantation.

Folks started tellin us everwhere we go that we was gonna be on the Oprah Winfrey Show. ’Cept Mr. Ron say she ain’t called. Now, I knowed she’s a rich sister, but I ain’t never seen her show. I overheard some ladies at one of the Bible studies sayin she done a lot for our race. If you ask me, I ain’t done nothin ’cept to bring it down. Fellas like me don’t get on no TV shows ’less it’s America’s Most Wanted. I don’t sing no blues, dance no jigs, can’t throw or catch no balls. All I done for so long is sit by a Dumpster and wiggle my toes.

A few times back on the plantation, I remember playin a little baseball, ’cept we never had no bats or balls.

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