A Short Story Set in Pine Hills from Ironies; Music Score and Quotes sharing Second Festival from Restless For Retribution by Spotlight Author, Cam Rascoe!

 

Ras Cat believed that enjoying good food was a part of being southern and he loved a southern woman with a great love for food. After a second glass of sparkling water they discussed film and literature. They settled on the “Outsiders” and the feeling it gave them when they first read the book and then viewed the movie as teens. The theme song was timeless and no less than eight mega stars, young in their careers, were featured in the film. The film’s legendary director captured the book better than any director had ever captured the true essence of a novel, agreed the two lovers... From Restless for Retribution

(Black Bigotry)

Ignorance of Iesha 

It had been a long time since I saw my homeboys in the hood. We were separated by life choices, decisions and responsibilities. Living only nine miles away from one another, it may as well have been light years. Church, many different youth sporting events, work, gym, community gatherings and backyard BBQ’s is how I spend my time. Being a father of six, most of that time is spent at youth sporting events and activities. Life for my homies was spent drastically different from mine. (From Ironies)

Cat never took offense in losing to a woman in anything, he recognized that we are all blessed with different talents and abilities. The key is to utilize your particular ability in the most effective way possible.

There were more performers at the Second Annual Pine Hills Day Celebration; The Rush Tree* rocked the crowd...

We shared our life and times with different types of people doing very different things. Nonetheless the love was still there; I would always have their back and they would always have mine. So from my suburban home in Ocoee I traveled east to my old stomping grounds of Pine Hills. Thirty years prior Pine Hills was my sanctuary as I escaped from life of torment utilizing my talents and athletic abilities. This fourteen year old product of and addict and a convict had grown tired of the burdens of his parents addictions, poor choices and criminal behaviors. 

The dance studios’s three groups and six routines left the crowd in awe...

After a basketball season in which I rose from the ninth grade team all the way to varsity, I was offered the opportunity to play on an AAU U16 Basketball team that would be traveling to Florida for a tournament in which they would be playing teams from all over Orange country. Our last game was in Pine Hills at Robinswood Middle School. 

I knew my grandmother lived in the area so when the final buzzer rang I told my coaches that I would not be traveling back with the team. They protested but couldn’t stop this head strong young man determined to find a better life for him self. Ironically, twenty years later I would be asked to speak to the students of the school and meet my wife who taught there for nineteen years. 

Doing what we were called to do brought us together and created this busy loving life we now share. When I arrived in Pine Hills in the late 1980’s it was a much different place filled with optimism and ambition. The community was diversely dignified filled with home owners who took pride in their property and the developmental prosperity of their families. Pine Hills birthed or nurtured many a talented artist, musician, scholar, soldier, athlete, politician and pastor. 

The sounds her keys made brought tears to some eyes, surprised that a child so young could play so well; the crowd began to root for her. “Go on girl, you better play it baby!”*

The crime rate was minuscule compared to today. The place that saved my life is now called “Crime Hills” more often than by its given name. Still I love the area for all it has given to me, but the community has drastically changed. I’m grateful to still have roots and ties, so on this day I was going back. The love was in the air. When I stepped out of my vehicle I was greeted with cheer. Sipping on a few beers, we caught up; I told a few jokes, just like old times. 

Jill led into her favorite jazz tune “He’s Funny Like That” by Billie Holiday. The band backed her up perfectly...

Forever the comedian, I rehashed a few funny stories from our shared past that I hadn’t thought about in years. Again, I had ’em in stitches. I settled in a bedroom at the side of the house that had been converted from a garage with one of my homeboys and a chick he had been wasting time with over the years. I never quite understood why he was drawn to her but to each his own. I sat quiet as they engaged in banter about how they planned to spend their evening. 

Hey, Ras Cat! I dropped by to sing with you! This is one of my favorite songs (and singers) that I sing in my head at the beginning of summer each year...and on through... Gabbie...LOL

Iesha wanted to make a call to secure more of her favorite narcotic and hangout at their favorite watering hole. Eventually their conversation changed and focused on race. Iesha had some strong feelings on Caucasian People and her distrust of them. “I ain’t never known no good White People. Man shit you can’t trust them Crackers for nothin’. I don’t fool wit White folks.” 

 ...imitating Little Richard. her favorite performer of all time. (With a shout-out WOW to "Shut Up and Kiss Me" who seeks sharing of their songs on UTube... I loved it...so check them out!)

I was dumbfounded; I didn’t know how we got on to this and I couldn’t believe she was serious. So I asked her. “Iesha, you have never known a good White Person in your life? You think all White People are bad?” 

Rhonda and Jill started in with a duet of “Boy is mine” and the crowd swayed...

She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes before answering aggressively. “Hell to the naw! I don’t trust ’em and I don’t want them around me. They smell like wet dog anyway.”

The crowd really got excited when they were joined on stage by the rest of 407 as the quartet sang “That’s What Friends Are For.” The crowd sang along… “Keep smiling’, keep shining, knowing you can always count on me, for sure that’s what friends are for.”

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “You mean to tell me…” Just then two of my boys who heard I was kickin’ it in the hood bust into the room interrupting my rebuttal. I followed them back outside where more people were waiting. Iesha and I never got to finish our conversation but her disturbing words stayed with me. 

Jill again covered the hit “Fallin’” and it’s challenging vocal pitch and playing; she nailed it,..

The rest of that night was a fun, full of reminiscing and laughter. Before leaving to return back to my stable, sober, plain vanilla life; I promised the homeboys I would return in a couple of days with disks of music I produced for our group years prior. Many of us were in a band together fifteen years earlier; I was the front man/ producer. 

The last song she performed was “The Greatest Love of All” and again the crowd sang. “I believe the children are the future…”

As I drove home Iesha’s words ran through my head. I couldn’t believe the ignorance she spewed. I knew some people still thought that way but to actually hear it was shocking. I just had to share with my wife; she was equally appalled. Days later there I was in my minivan heading back to Pine Hills with music in hand. It was enjoyable to take a walk down memory lane listening to myself singing and rapping about things I would never say out loud now in my forties. 

The crowd continued to sway as the band extended the song; another beautiful beautiful day was had in Pine Hills filled with love, art, culture and peace.

As an artist I could respect how brazen and unapologetic the lyrics and beats were. The subject matter left something to be desired, oh to be in my twenties again. Oh, my how my art has changed since then. I pulled up to the house and rang the door bell. I was greeted by the elder women of the family. I’ve loved them since I was a teen. These women sometimes mothered me when there was no maternal presence in my life. Hot plates and words of wisdom were offered and accepted. 

Hi, Iesha, Gabbie here Girlfriend... Yeah, I know, I know, you are thinkin' I ain't no girlfriend of yours... But, then, that can change, right? Like me, you may not have been around too many white girls...and some of them can be real...bitches, you know....?

Before I knew it an hour had passed as we caught up about our lives, our children’s and their grandchildren’s lives. I still have no grandchildren because our children are more focused on earning diplomas before birthing dependents. These women, still in their sixties had been great grandmothers for years. Unfortunately our children had different goals and focuses for their lives. I realized sitting there chatting that this is where I belonged. I had much more in common with grandmothers than men my own age trying to recapture their youth or hold on to the past. 

For me, it was not until the 7th grade that I had ever even talked to a Black girl...Her name was Marian and she was best friends with Carolyn... Both of those girls were on the school bus when I was first driven to school!

Eventually I was summoned by one of my homeboys to leave the presence of my new peers and join them in the garage. We started listening to our youthful voices saying some outlandish things harmonizing and rapping over low budget beats. Listening reminded me of my true calling in life. I was born an artist but God intended for me to utilize my talents in a different and more productive way. A silent prayer I said to myself thanking the Lord for the talents He had Blessed me with. The music was good but it was local, not major. We could move crowds here in the south but we were never going to create a new movement or rise to the level of our favorite recording artists. 

Iesha, those two girls made the first move to me, welcoming me... I learned, later, that Carolyn was a Catholic... Well, in my house, we were told that we couldn't date catholic boys, so I figured that Carolyn really shouldn't be my friend, according to my directions from home... You know what, though, I really didn't think it was the right thing to do... After all, I had learned differently in Sunday School...

Well, we all three became best friends... And whatever differences that adults seemed to have about people different from us, I just couldn't see it... Race? Religion? Marian and Carolyn were my friends, and any differences didn't matter...

Now when I place my fingertips on a different type of keyboard I leave my heart on the page, inspiring, motivating, educating and entertaining. Evoking deep feelings from my readers is my new goal giving them thoughts and sensations they never new could be received through the written word. After an hour or so of a listening session we started talking about this and that. Iesha sat in the corner sniffling from time to time with white residue around her nose. 

One day, Marian taught me a special lesson about her background...and maybe yours? The three of us had gone over to a bakery that was across the street from the junior high school in Masontown, PA... They had sputnuts (and if you've never had one, well, you've missed a great treat--it is a doughnut made with potatoes...Wow, really can't describe the taste, but I always got one of those). Marian had gotten a brownie... She wrapped the paper around the brownie and asked me if I wanted a bite. I said no, that's alright. I'm good... But, then, she added...You can have the first bite..."

We greeted one another when I entered the room but said nothing to one another since then. She seemed to enjoy our greatest hits as we talked about the times traveling, recording and performing. People started inquiring about my family and when I intended to release my next novel. I shared freely and honestly about the pros and cons of my new life. 

I had learned a little about race relations by that age...and suddenly Marian was presenting me with a "living" example. Were all children taught to fell some type of subservience, even as from their historical stories, gave their best to their "masters".... Often, much more than they should have been. But, I remembr when Marian offered me the first bite, I realized that she must have been taught to present her best offer of herself to "white" people... And, even if she was just being kind...it was I who learned just how patient and...impatient...those who are Black must be at any given time or part of their lives...

There is a lot of love in my life but very little time for self or artistic creation. I figure you have to take the good with the bad and I must admit that fathering six children never leaves you with a lack of material to write about. 

When I started working, I found that I was working with many who were Black... I remember, one day, I learned another life lesson, when, within Affirmative Action, I had been required to hire John. If there were no laws at that time, I would have promoted internally as I have always tried to do, knowing that I would have to train anybody hired, due to the specialized tasks of the job... John was doing a fine job... and he was easily working within the usually busy office. One day, he was off at lunch when a male student came in... I was the only one covering lunch that day, so I went out to see if I could help the young man. He had asked for Mr. Brown and when I explained he wasn't there... He said that he should probably come back to speak with Mr. Brown... I quickly realizd another type of bias... He expected John to be in the higher position in the office than I.  I calmly responded, "Well, John is one of my employees, but I am sure that I can help you with anything that is his job..." He had the grace to hesitate with a red face, and we went on to work on his request...

Iesha spoke up asking me about meeting my wife. “When are you going to bring your wife around?” 

I gave her a curious look. “Around who, you?” She laughed it off before restating it. “Yes, around me, us.” 

“I’m not.”

So Iesha, I know how you feel... I've seen how some of the world is about anything or anybody and It's sometime been an effort to follow the words from God... "Be the world a better place..." (BTW, this last video is a true God Incident...it sure fits what we must do today!) Think simple... Cam Rascoe does that often...even writes about it.  I've found him, even as a Black man, you know...LOL... that he has become my friend in God...and in life... How Cool is That?!

You see, Iesha, most of us have at least a basic fear of anybody who is different, looks different, talks different, or these days, even those who vote differently... I know...right now, I seem to be a black sheep in my own family... I voted for Biden!

“Why?” “Because you’re a bigot.” Chuckles went around the room but Iesha didn’t find it very funny. 

“What do you mean I’m a bigot?” I shook my head then looked over to my long time friend before answering. He shrugged, inviting me to continue on. 

“The last time I talked to you, you told me you don’t trust White people. No White people. My wife is half German, half Norwegian with blonde hair and blue eyes. You don’t get much whiter than that and you told me that you don’t deal with “crackers” as you say.” I could tell that she was put off after learning that my wife was a Caucasian woman but she tried to save face. 

Iesha, girlfriend, I've been feeling a lot like you during the last four years...even evangelical christians, who I once trusted, seem to be corrupted by this insane need for power...Yeah, you're right, just like the Masters that your race had to serve as slaves... Yes, we do owe you...But, don't think that everybody is ever going to feel the same way that many of us do...We care! I hope, though, you are seeing some differences in the last months as a new president is in...who cares about all of us, no matter what color...

“I know but if she is your wife I’m sure she is alright. She’s probably one of the few good ones.” 

I was once again dumbfounded. I repeated her words. “One of the good ones. You know that is a phrase that many racist White people have used to describe me over the years because I am well read and understand much of their American Pop Culture. They feel safe around me, see me as nonthreatening. In other words they see me as an anomaly because in their eyes Black people shouldn’t be intelligent or well spoken. What you said the other day is just as bad. You haven’t met every White person in the world but because of your ignorance of them you allow yourself to vilify them all.” 

We are reaching a point, sometimes, when we don't feel that we can even talk to those we love--family, people who were supposed to be our friends-- But, really, I have also learned that it takes each of us to take a step. Anothet step. And another step... But I've also learned that we've each got to have good vibes coming back to us, don't you think?

But, girl, I just have to tell you...that nothing is going to change if you don't get off those drugs... Nothing, no world in which we live, should be enough for you to feel so badly about yourself... Yeah, you heard right. Go out there and find out what is something that interests you--like I did, when I had to leave my job, which I loved... I turned to books! Books can take you away...and you don't need to get high on anything but life...and how good it can be...

I could see light bulbs turning on in peoples’ heads around the room but she was still unrelenting. 

“But you know that bad shit they do trying to keep us down. If it was up to them, they would make us slaves again.” 

I decided that it was time I made my final point and exit this din of the dimwitted. “Again, that’s all White people?” 

“Most of them.”

Yeah, I'm gettin' there...Maybe you even were hoping to hear about an answer... You see, in case you didn't know, there's a friend I'd like to have you meet... His name is...Jesus...

 “Do you know that my wife and her two sisters have taught here in Crime Hills for almost two decades? Do you realize that we only met because she wanted me to come in and speak to her class to inspire them? She reached out to me because she was investing in the children of this community. We both met the love of our lives doing what we were called to do in service of our people.” Iesha’s face was still sour. “Everywhere we go in this county we are approached by some young adult or teen that my wife has taught and inspired to be something greater. She has used her vocation to elevate three generations of our Black and Brown children and Lord knows she doesn’t get paid a lot for it. Doctors, lawyers, businessmen, politicians, professional athletes and future scholars have passed through her classroom and left with the desire to be greater. Her only reward is their development and growth as productive citizens and the praise they offer her for her efforts. My wife is a compassionate professional who doesn’t judge people by the color of their skin yet by the content of their character.” Iesha kind of sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. With her lack of response or rebuttal I continued on. “While she is helping to raise the Black children of the Hills you sit in here in this garage getting high everyday and you have three children of your own, home at your mama’s house that you are neglecting. 

You know, Iesha, it's been a wonderful life knowing that Jesus is always there for me, maybe even to just hold my hand, but, more, to know and be secure in His love... Wanna talk more about it, just let me or Cam know... Yeah, Cam is the best guy to talk to--he's been around your neighborhood for quite a while and knows just what you might want to talk about... and He's been given a special gift of wisdom to tell it like it is, just like he's already spoken to you... But, believe me, he's one of the good guys! If you're not ready to talk, you can read some of his words of wisdom...there are words that you just might find to be written just for you! Yes! Just take that first step... Put your hand out...

Now tell me again how all White people are wicked and evil.” I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was a friend letting me know that I had made my point. But I had one more thing to say. “If a White person wanted to generalize about or stereotype all Black people by your actions they would say that we are all lazy, slothful drug addicts who neglect their children. That’s the example you show to White people giving them what they believe is credence to assume we are all like that. Thank you sister!” 

With that I stood up and starting saying my goodbyes. I had enough of the hood for a little while. Catching up and reminiscing was cool but I had more important things to be doing with my time. 

Our history I will never forget, I will always love them but some of the people that hold such ignorant views of the world I cannot surround myself with. It just shows that racist come in all sizes, shapes and colors.

 (Black Bigotry) Ignorance of Iesha

*Substitute musicians used

Believe!