An Excerpt from my new Novel...Yet to be Titled

Excerpt

Every Saturday night Harrold gave Ebony and Devon a shiny Silver fifty-cent piece for allowance.  Today was a little different.  Today he gave them a choice.  He put a paper one-dollar bill next to a shiny fifty-cent piece and asked us which one we wanted.  Devon picked the dollar.  I picked the fifty-cent piece because that was all I knew.  Harold smiled at Ebony and told her how smart she was for her choice.  Then he explained to Devon that the paper dollar really has no value.  “You used to be able to trade this paper dollar for a dollar's worth of gold.  Now, you can’t.  It’s really just a piece of paper.  It has no monetary value.  It’s more like credit.  So it is wise to keep the silver.  It is more valuable.”

Devon smiled, shook his head up and down as he said “Yes Sir” and took the silver piece.

Uncle Ray was daddy’s younger brother.  He was the first one in the family to attend college, but he dropped out.  Said he could make more money at home than being in some college.  Both daddy’s parents had passed away, so it was only Daddy and Uncle Ray.  But they had aunts uncles and cousins.  Lots of them.  

Uncle Ray was always dressed sharp.  He always wore a jacket and tie, but daddy said he didn’t work in a pie factory.  My brother loved going to Uncle Ray’s apartment in Linwood Gardens.  He would try on Uncle Ray’s clothes and shoes and talk about how he was gonna be just like Uncle Ray when he grew up.  Daddy would just shake his head

When Uncle Ray babysat us he always came to our house.  Mommy would have us bathed and in our pajamas so when Uncle Ray got there all he had to do was entertain us.  And that’s exactly what he did.

He would start by popping us a big bowl of popcorn.  Then we would listen to records, dance and sometimes he would bring his bongos and let us play them.  My favorite was when he did the “hand bone” hand slapping song.  When mommy and daddy did it, they only used one hand but when Uncle Ray did it he used both hands.

Aunt Jacke and Uncle Frank came over to join my parents that night.  They were going out to celebrate Uncle Fran’s birthday so everyone was in a festive mood.  The Date was August 28m exactly 6 years after the Columbia Race Riot.   They were drinking and laughing and having a good time when Uncle Ray arrived.

“Man, have you heard about the police raid of the Black Panther Headquarters today?:

“Ray, don’t nobody wanna hear that shit tonight man.  I’m celebrating my birthday with my baby.”

Aw man, you guys are sellouts.  I forgot who I was talking to.  Where is my nephew and niece?”

“Here I am Uncle Ray.  Who are the Black Panthers?” Devan asked.

“Hey Little Man!” Uncle Ray said as he picked Devon up and swung him around.

“The Black Panthers is a black organization started by two brothers who went to college.  Bobby Seals and Huey P. Newton are two of the baddest brothers on the face of the earth!  They started the Black Panthers in California and now they have chapters all over; three chapters here in Philadelphia!

White people don’t like them because they are smart, black and proud.  They give hope to communities and institute programs that improve our lifestyles….”

Uncle Ray stopped when Willie came downstairs.  She was decked out in a gold dress the had a drop cowl in back and fit her like a glove.  Her shoes were multi-colored and included splashes of gold to highlight her dress.  Her signature afro hairstyle was perfect as usual and she was stunning.  

“Whew Wee.  Look at  Willie!”  Uncle Ray shouted.  He seemed a little different tonight.  A bit overly excited and rambling about things.  

“Well it’s about time.  You look, beautiful baby.” Harold said.  “Now, let’s get this party started!”  And they were off.

Life was good for Harold and Willie.  Willie had her job working for the city and Harold was a full-time exterminator.  They had a house, a car, two kids and a dog.  They were living the American Dream.

This Saturday night started out just like any other and I went to bed happy and full.  But on this night I was awakened by all this screaming and hollering.  I sat up in my bed startled out of my sleep as I listened to daddy and Uncle Ray screaming at each other.  Then I heard glass breaking.  Uncle Ray had jumped from the top kitchen step straight to the basement and began breaking the glass lamps and tables that furnished the basement.  Then I heard sirens and mommy saying “he’s down the basement.”  

At that point I jumped up, closed my door and covered my head with my pillow.  But that didn’t drown out the screams that seemed to come from my Uncle Ray’s soul.  I jumped up out of bed and started to go to my brother’s room, but since his door was closed as usual, I ran into my parent's room because I could hear them taking Unc out the door.  I saw him on a stretcher.  It looked like they tied him down.  But there were two stretchers.  JoAnn was on the other.  I didn’t even know she was here.  Daddy jumped in the ambulance with Uncle Ray and the two ambulances took off.  Mommy stood out on the steps staring into space for a while.  I went back to my room and pretended to be asleep.  And soon, I was.

I don’t know exactly what happened that night.  Daddy said somebody put something in Uncle Ray’s drink that made him go crazy.  Their lives had forever been changed that night and the American Dream was about to become a nightmare.

MENTAL ILLNESS

Saturdays had forever changed.  Ebony would often be awakened by Harry and Willie’s arguments in the wee hours in the morning.  After the arguing died down she would fall back to sleep only to be awakened by Willie to get up and get dressed. Whether there was an argument or not, Saturday mornings were spent shopping.  If they weren’t food shopping, they were shopping for material to take to Miss Janice so she could make Willie’s outfits, while Harry and Devon stayed in bed.  We always made it home in time to watch Soul Train the soul TRAIN...THE HIPPEST TRIP IN AMERICA WITH DON CORNELIUS AND THE SOUL TRAIN GANG!.  That was everyone’s favorite show!  

In the afternoons, the family would get together and take a long ride up to Byberry Road in the far Northeast section of Philly to visit Uncle Ray at a place they called The State Hospital.

There were several buildings on the well-manicured grounds of this facility.  To look at it from the outside you would think it was a good place for people to get help. Once inside, it was a very scary place for anybody, let along an 8-year-old little girl.  

There were people wandering around and they all had on hospital gowns that were opened in the back, some exposing bare bottoms of the patients.  They just walked back and forth up and down the hallways with no destination and they didn’t seem to notice anyone or anything around them. And the place smelled awful.  Ebony hated going there.

 Harry hated this place and was doing everything in his power to get Ray out of here.  He didn’t like that they kept Uncle Ray “doped up” on several medications including Haldol and Thorazine.  Uncle Ray didn’t talk.  He just looked kinda spaced out.  I don’t even know if he recognized us, but one thing for sure, we were there every Saturday afternoon.

Uncle Ray had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. They tried many different combinations of medication to help him.  At first, they all made him zombie-like, but after about a year, they seemed to have the right combination of medications and Uncle Ray was finally allowed to come out of that awful place.  But Willie did not want him to stay with them.  She was afraid of another episode and afraid for her children.  Harry was mad, and they argued about it but in the end, Uncle Ray went to stay with Harry’s cousin Frank.  It was just him and Aunt Jackie, they didn’t have any children and Aunt Jackie didn’t work so everyone agreed that was the best place for Uncle Ray.  They lived up in the Northeast in a nice 3 bedroom house with a porch and backyard and had plenty of room for Uncle Ray.

We still went to visit him every Saturday, but of course, he was a totally different person.  He was not the stylishly dressed man he once was.  He now wore all black attire, the official Black Panther uniform.  He talked a lot more now, often rambling about Black Panther news.  Today, as many Saturdays to follow, he recalled the day the police raided the Black Panther Headquarters; the same day his world got flipped upside down.  Uncle Ray was sitting on the porch, talking to himself when we arrived.

“In 1966 Bobby Seals and Huey P. Newton started the Black Panther for Self Defense in Oakland California, because they were sick and tired of the pigs beating us upside our heads for no reason.  After the assasination of Malcolm X, they followed his motto.  They said we have the right to defend ourselves  They started patrolling and protecting their own neighborhoods from Police Brutality.  Soon after they began identifying problems and instituting solutions  One basic problem was that children were not being properly nutritioned so they started feeding children breakfast.    In 1969 the Philadelphia Chapter started under the leadership of Reggis Shell.   Following the programs and initiatives of the original chapter, The Philadelphia Black Panther Party fed the hungry, had sit-ins, and became such a positive force in the city that they were a threat to the oppressors.:

“Hey Ray.  What’s up man?  I bought your favorite bean pie.”

Uncle Ray looked up, took the pie, looked at Devon and continued to ramble. Harry and Ebony sat on the porch with Devon and listened to Ray talk.

So, one night me and Nate were down Columbia Avenue right, and we say those pigs bust down the door to the Panthers Headquarters.  We were on our way there to join up.  We watched from across the street as those pigs held guns to those brother’s heads and made the strip down to bare nakedness.  Yeah me and Nate walked away with tears in our eyes.”

Then he was quiet for a while. We all were.  Uncle Ray opened his pie and ate it as we all sat in silence, each in our own thoughts.

Aunt Jackie was famous for her fried chicken, collard greens and potato salad.  Almost every Saturday she would prepare her famous dishes and include a special dessert.  Today is was my favorite; banana pudding.  We all sat at the dining room table as Uncle Frank said the blessing.  

Harold did not have an appetite.  “I just gotta find out who slipped that micky in Ray’s drink man!  Imma kill that mother.” he said as he poured himself another glass of whiskey.  He seemed to drink whiskey more than ever now.

“Man, the doctor told us that nobody slipped him anything, Harold.

“That’s right Harold.  The doctor said this...schizophrenia is something that has been developing over time.  A traumatic experience can spark it to new heights. They believe that Ray experienced trauma that caused his spike to his episode.” Aunt Jackie chimed in.

“Yeah.  All he talks about now is that night the Panthers Headquarters was raided.  That is the trauma that caused schizophrenia to spike Harold.  Nobody slipped him anything man.”

“Man, I just...just…” and Harold broke down in tears.  Willie, Aunt Jackie and Uncle Frank wrapped their arms around him and Devon and I followed suit.