Having opened this door after it has been nailed shut for so long, I am beginning to view it from a different perspective. Which is what this blog is all about. Trying to view life from a different angle. The past holds many a key that can unlock the gateway to the future . Using it as a landmark I can better gauge the distance I've traveled and the direction I'm headed. The delicate part is very similar to cave divng. The art of which involves very deliberate and thought out movements. This is so not to disturb the long settled silty bottom. Which if disturbed can obliterate any hope of visibility or sound navigation. I would go so far as to say that once silted up the chances for panic and disaster increase exponentially. That being said, I will move through the next series of stories with thoughtful consideration of each step so as not to muddy the waters and get lost. I left us last night with Bobby sleeping and me with a knife under my pillow. Even with my apprehension of our situation I still felt a sense of safety in the knowledge that I was handling things as well as I could. Unc was gone taking care of what I was pretty sure would be an escape plan. The trouble with this was I had made a promise to Bobby and planned on seeing it through. Morning came and I tip toed out to find unc in the kitchen cooking breakfast. I opened the drawer that I had taken the knife from and put it back. As always, unc knew what was going on even without being there or hearing about it. I must say it could be quite exasperating on occasion. Without skipping a beat unc said " Jody, get me the bacon and 6 eggs out of the fridge and don't drop them." Replying " O.k. unc which eggs do you want? The ostrich eggs , the easter eggs, the dinosaur eggs, the emu eggs there are so many to choose from I just can't decide." Chuckling with his "kikiki" sound he circled his spatula and said " Boy..." I cut hm off saying in my best unc imitation" Yeah I know, boy if you don't cut out that foolishness ain't nothing gonna get done around here, let alone breakfast." Spinning faster than a 70 year old man should be able to, he ran, grabbed me and said " O.k. Mr. Smarty pants that's it, your cooking breakfast." Thinking he was going to hit me with the spatula he swung it fast and then gently placed it in my hand. He continued with " You remember what I taught you?" Grabbing the spatula I said" It's pretty hard to forget since it's the only damn thing I know how to do in the kitchen. Move aside great one and make room for the next generaton of master chefs."WhileI was saying this I was circling the spatula over head like I was waving a flag. Unc steps to me and hugs me and says " You know I love you more than my own flesh and blood, don't you?" Letting me go I look up at him in confusion and say " Of course I know that, you've already told me. Now enough with the sappy stuff let's get to work. We got people to feed." We hold each others eyes for a few seconds longer than usual. This saying much more than any words we ever spoke to each other. My mother said she would watch us for hours from her room. We would be on the front porch just sitting and looking out at the trees. Unc in his rocker and me on the steps, we would mutually connect with natures lessons. At first I was just sitting to keep him company, without disturbing his privacy. I kept looking for what he was looking at. For years I wondered just what the hell he saw. I knew he wouldn't tell me anyway, so I just kept on looking, hoping one day I would get it. I don't know when it happened , but one day it struck me he wasn't looking , he was listening. When I started listening, that's when I began to really see what he was looking at. As if on cue at unscheduled intervals we would simultaneously turn and look at each other for a few seconds then turn back to looking out. Mama said it gave her the greatest thrill to see us do that. I guess she was easily amused. What can I say? So back to the kitchen, didn't I just say we had people to feed? Well people it was, as daddy Carlton stumbled out in his pajamas followed by Carlton Jr. . They sat down at the table and unc began serving them coffee and juice. They read the paper as I went to the stove to see what unc had already started. There was this pot of steaming water with what looked to me like white sand in the bottom of it. I wondered if it was a way to clean a really burnt or dirty pan. So I asked unc " Should I toss this out?" He looked at me seriously and said " Boy have you done gone and lost your mind? Don't ever touch a black mans grits. It's just plain bad mojo." Isn't it Carlton?" Surely right you are Gilbert. That's what caused the damn civil war.Those damn yankees went about messin' with our grits. Everybody know that.What grade you in?" Knowing better than to answer I just stood there looking at the pot to see if it would give up some answers as to what a grit was. Finally I raised my yet to be used spatula and said 3 famous words that got breakfast moving in a hurry. "What's a grit?" All heads turned except for uncs' ,which dropped and stared at me as if I had just insulted their mother.Unc took the spatula from me and guided me to the table saying "We might as well sit. They ain't gonna let us near the kitchen anyway." Walking around to the chair that faced the kitchen I said "Are they mad?" Unc replied " Well that's hard to say, let's just say they're not mad at you." Shocked I said " I got you in trouble because I didn't know what a grit was?" Unc rolls his eyes and says "No, now they want to personally show you every type of food from the south. Since I haven't." The kitchen is in a buzz. Bowls whisking, bacon fryng, potatoes being peeled,cheese being grated and gravy being made. In less than an hour mounds of delicious southern delicacies were being presented on the table. Unc leans over to me and says " I hope and pray you brought your appetite boy, because we gonna be here a while." Since I hadn't eaten anything since a hot dog in grand central, my appetite was up for the challenge. I turn to unc and ask " What about Bobby? Should I go get him?" Unc shrugs and says " If you want , better go now before the food gets cold." I nod and go to room where I find Bobby still sleeping. I think for a minute what would I want. Probably rest more than food. I can always save him a plate and keep him company while he eats. I return and unc glances over to me as I walk back to the table. I give him a little shake of my head and he nods understanding. Little Carlton is down right friendly now as we get ready to feast. Daddy Carlton says " Let us all bow our heads in thanks: Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed. Amen. Lets dig in." We start passing plates around at break neck speed. Half the stuff I don't recognize so I keep nudging unc " What is this? What is that?" This goes on for a few more times and finally unc looks at me and says " Boy just eat what there and decide if you like it after. Now let me eat in peace." There are fresh blueberry pancakes, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage and something called scrapple plus a pan of corn bread. Let's not forget the reason for this feast in front of us. The humble grit who in all its' glory has launched a thousand ships and fed southern troops throughout the Civil war. There were even different kinds of grits. There were creamy cheese grits and plain old regular grits. I asked which one I should try first and the consensus was the regular with butter, salt and a dash of fresh ground pepper. The room is silent as I try them. There good and I like them so everybody's happy. My favorite thing was the biscuits smothered in gravy and the blueberry pancakes. Being completely stuffed I start to get up and clear the plates , when unc says" Psst sit down you little southern jackrabbit. You're a guest. For today at least, tomorrow feel free to wash and dry all the dishes you want." Remembering about Bobby I ask " May I make Bobby a plate?" Daddy Carlton waves one arm and points with other saying " Already taken care of Jody. There's a plate full of food that would choke Sherman in the oven warming for my little Bobby boy. Thanks for thinking of him, there's not many who do." Daddy Carlton glares and Jr and he glares back not backing down. Unc says " Why don't you two cantankerous timber wolves just give it a rest. At least until my food settles." Backing off, but no forgetting they both get up and start cleaning. Unc and me alone again I ask " So what are we doing today?" His look tells me we're doing it. I ask "May I go out side and explore?" Unc out of character brings other into the conversation saying " Carlton Jody wants to know if he can go exploring?" Jr. stops and looks at me and says" Don't leave the house without someone with you, period end of discussion" O.k. so much for that plan. Unc says " Maybe you should go get Bobby up so he doesn't sleep all day." I say "o.k." Going in I can see Bobby huddled in a ball crying. Now what? I think. Then it hits me the unmistakeable smell of urine. It's strong too. Maybe this is more than I can handle. My internal answer comes back " Maybe it's more than you want to handle." I say " Yo Bobby boy hold on. I'm going to get some more towels . You take off your clothes and get your ass in that shower right this minute." Bobby sits up and says "O.k. Jody I'll take the sheets off too." I say as I'm leaving " That's my man Bobby, get on it." I go out quietly and get uncs' attention he walks over and I tell him the deal. He grabs the back of my neck and massages it saying " Go get the towels and let me handle this . You've really done enough and I couldn't be prouder of you. Big change in a small time, good sign, good sign." Smiling he lets go of my neck and I walk slowly to get the towels as discreetly as possible. The rest of the day went smoothly until the sun went down. What is it with this place at night? Unc and me are coming back from a walk and a trip to the local candy store, which was awesome. Even until this day they had candies I couldn't find anywhere else. When we get home we find dinner waiting. It was homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens and fresh summer corn. Not to mention a cherry pie cooling on the counter with a pitcher of pink lemonade. We ate enjoyed and relaxed until it was time for bed. It seems that when Eleanor gets this way, they bring her to her sisters until she dries out, which has been from anywhere from a day to a month. Bobbys' room had been cleaned and I could see there were rubber sheets on Bobbys' bed. Embarrassed he starts to make excuses for why he wets the bed and why his mama beats him. I wave my hand and say " Bobby I don't know about your mama, if you say so then I'll believe you. The sheets you got there, are on my bed at home too. You're not the only one to wet the bed so get over it your not that specal. Let's play a game . What games do you have?" His face lighting up like I had never seen it. In the whole 2 days I've been here. Has it only been 2 days? Jeez !, seems more like a week. Oh well, let's see what games Bobby has : Battle ship, Monopoly, Sorry, Checkers and oh yes the best game ever made by man or mouse. That's right folks "Mouse Trap". If you haven't played this game your life is incomplete. We play not only "Mouse Trap" but Battleship and "Sorry"(the game). By now it's after midnight and we're ready to sleep. I go to my bag and get my toothbrush and toothpaste and start to go out to the bathroom. Bobby asks " Where are you going" I say "" Just to the bathroom to brush my teeth." Bobby looks shy and says Oh o.k. That's good I guess..." Cutting him off I say " Go in my bag there is an extra tooth brush. Get it and let's go ." We go and brush our teeth. To me it looks like he's only done it a few times. The hint was when he put toothpaste on the back of the toothbrush. I play it off and say " Good idea Bobby, paste up both sides. I never tried that. Let me see." I do it and Bobby puts paste on the right side as well." Back in bed we talk, giggle, laugh and fart of course, until we go to sleep. Suddenly I'm awakened by a crash , groan and then a scream in the house. Oh god ! What now? I hide under the covers until I hear Bobby screaming too. I go out and find unc holding little Carlton bleeding from his right shoulder. unc is putting pressure on it and yells to me to call 911. I go and Carlton obviously in pain grunts out " No Gilbert they won't come here too dangerous at night and if they do it'll take hours. We only 10 blocks from Harlem Hospital Center. Jody call a gypsy cab, the number is on the side of the phone." Scared out of my mind. I call, they answer I say "We want a cab as soon as possible please. Hold on Unc whats the address? He says " 605 Morningside Ave. and 125th st.." I repeat it to the dispatcher and hang up . I say " It'll be here in 5 minutes. Unc? How can I help?" He says get Bobby dressed and ready we're going to the Hospital." I go , but Bobby's already dressed and ready to go. We go back to the living room where Carlton and unc are wrapping his wound with an ace bandage tightly. Unc says "Lets start going down stairs, take that side and hold Carlton." I do, as we slowly go down the stairs one step at a time. I see there's already blotches of Carltons blood. We get to the bottom and wait on the stoop. !0 minutes later the cab comes . We get in and Carlton says " Harlem Hospital Center on Lenox Avenue please." It takes about 15 min with lights and traffic. Unc tosses the guy a twenty and says "Thanks". Slowly getting out of the cab we help Carlton walk to the aumatic door. They whoosh open, we go in and they take Carlton on a gurney right away and I hear " Call the Police we've got another gunshot" Bobby and me wait until 6am and the sun is coming up. Daddy Carlton comes limping and hopping in on his cane. Goes to the desk and they tell him to wait . Unc goes to him and comforts him. Telling him what he knew. Unc takes us home and we fall into bed like I am to right now. Good night. Part 3 tomorrow, the conclusion. Thanks Jody
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