Journalism Class 1960....part 3

Previously..
We are just in time to board the bus and settle down for the two hour trip..My sister is reading a book she brought along, Mom is quiet and sits beside dad in the seats before us..Daddy is smiling and talking to another man.

I am making a plan as the open road and the farm houses and pastures pass us by..I see the lights in the windows in the twilight as we pass through the small towns..Now and then I catch a rare glimpse of a home and the family within..My imagination runs to happy, secure children who never worry about mom getting hit in anger or about sitting down to a meal and wondering if there is enough for tomorrow, but most of all I imagine the security and warmth of having a home that is as much a part of me as my family. A place to have fond memories of after I grow up, a place to return to to heal..And my plan becomes clearer..

It is dark as the bus pulls into the station in Columbus, and we wait near the rear tires of the bus as the driver unloads the cargo..

The friends we will be staying with come to the bus to greet us and help with the suitcases..Dad is very happy and laughs and shakes hands. Mom gratefully greets the woman whom she has been friends with, but who will tell us later this night that they can only have two stay..Dad, because her husband will help him find a job, and Barbara, whom she has always taken a special interest in..They also have two children of their own.

It is morning now and I awaken to the sounds of children getting ready for school and the smell of oatmeal, toast and fresh coffee..Barb, is nervously getting ready to enroll once more in a new school..She is just one year behind me..She seldom says anything to any of the rest of the family since she started highschool ..She is always deep into her books and has a b or better average..I suspect she also has a plan, but we are not close anymore so I am not sure..

The lady will drive me and mom and our two suitcases into the city this morning after we take Barbara to the high school so she can get enrolled and settled in..Mom has been nervoously biting her lip all morning, a sign that she is very worried..She holds the newspaper ads in her hand with some apartments she has circled and is dialing the numbers..I know that there is very little money left in her purse and I worry, too.

Mom settles for the second tiny apartment in an old house from an equally old gentle lady who says she only rents to ladies and the rent of $10.00 a week is due now. There are a few dishes and pots and pans, so mom gives her the money..The bathroom is shared with everyone in the house.

Our friend leaves and we are left to unpack our suitcases..We will find the highschool this afternoon and get me enrolled.

Our apartment is in the old run section of town..There is some trash on the sidewalks and some people who look very needy and stare at us, one lady appears to be drunk and a man is saying bad things to her. Mom reaches for my hand and takes it in a firm grasp, something she hasn't done since I was very small and she was afraid of losing me in a crowd. I feel safe and comforted.

Ahead of us is the high school. It is a huge three story building, it looks well kept. I have never attended a school this big. We enter the building and I am shocked by the run down condition as compared to the outside. It is dark and has an odor. Graffitti decorates the long line of lockers on the inside wall broken only by doors into classrooms..It is very quiet..A door that says security opens and a man in uniform steps in front of us and asks our business..He escorts us to the office where I get myself enrolled and mom makes sure I get my classes that I was in before. I am very disappointed because there is no Journalism class here, but the tired looking lady tells me that I don't need that credit to graduate anyway..Mom is ready to leave, but she is adamant that I wait for her near the front door of the school after classes..I know that she is very fearful of this rough neighborhood and is actually reluctant to leave me here.
As I wait on Mom by the doors after school I reflect on the afternoon, I have just spent..It was a scary and eyeopening life long lesson in "reverse discrimination" the school is 98% made up of black students..I was stared at by some, ignored by some, whispered about by some and generally unseen and ignored by most..While a few were helpful in finding my classes and made a genuine and welcomed offer of friendship..I know I am not going to come back here tomorrow, if I can help it. I know I dodn't want to stay in this town, in that apartment, where we can not go out and feel safe. I know that it is time to tell mom my plan and convince her to help me carry it out..

We stop at a neighborhood store and Mom picks up a few things for easy meals for us on the very little amount of money she has left..Not enough, she is embarrassed as she tells the lady at the cash register to take the instant coffee off the bill to see if that will cover the amount over what money she has..It does and I am relieved..The cashier just shrugs her shoulders like it is nothing new for her to do this..

We are sitting together at the small table in the corner of the room eating soup and a cheese sandwich..We smell other cooking oders from the other apartment and from downstairs. The smells are nauseating and stale. Mom reaches over to open the window a little to try to freshen the air. I think I just need to tell her what I have on my mind and ask her to help me do it..

"Mom, what do you think about me taking the G.E.D. test and getting a full time job..I think I can type and take dictation well enough to get a pretty good job"..Is that relief I see in moms eyes? Say something!

Mom says she agrees and I see that she is upset that I am so close to graduation, but can't see me being able to graduate here..In the morning we will find the State Board of Education Dept. (we are in the capitol city) and find out about the test and when I can take it..Suddenly I feel almost happy for the first time in a long time, and I start making more plans..

Two weeks have almost gone by now since I took the G.E.D exam..Some parts were very easy for me and some were a bit harder..They graded me while I waited and congratulated me on my near perfect score! Mom was so proud and I was just happy that the first part of my plan was over and done with..It is the end of April now and the weather is warm and pleasant and I long to go back home to the clean fresh air of my small town and the familiar faces and the jobs I knew I ciould easily get..Dad has found some painting jobs and is working everyday and Mom works at a nearby second hand store..My sister seems to have settled in nicely in her suburban school and even has a few friends but still spends most of her time studying.

I am just waking up nthe next morning when I hear familiar footsteps in the hallway and know it is my dad..He and his friend stand there and mom asks what is wrong..Dad laughs and says that he has quit his job and we are goung back to our little town this afternoon and he reaches down and picks up his suitcase and comes into the apartment..Mom fixes coffee and dad makes his plans. Barbara wants to stay and finish her junior and senior year with our friends. Mom and dad agree and our friend is very happy and leaves. I am glad to be leaving this big, dirty town, yet I am embarrassed to be going back home. Home? We have no home. Where will we stay? I vow that I will return home just long enough to put the next step of my plan to work, and I feel lighter and ask Dad what time we leave......
only one more.I promise