Black Writers Connect

If you like to write, this is the right place for you!

December 29, 2004
What's the Name of this Insane Asylum
Phyllis was always living from hand to mouth no literally she was always living from hand to mouth. Let me start exaggerating here shall I? It wasn't always that way, she was once a very pretty young girl, wonderful to everyone including herself, and just ADORED!!!! But alas,she was lonely. One fine day she met a FINE young MAN, and guess what see this is a story of how things can come in twos as well as threes. This brother wasn't only FINE but also BOWLEGGED; ah those LEGS kept her mesmerize for many, many, many years. Flash forward 10 kids later(6 hers & his together, 4 his with other ladies) and the happy couple isn't quite so happy anymore.

The years of COLLEGE, (he attended all the best upstate ones Sing-Sing, Dannemora, etc.) and her passing by and or dating,partying,hanging with all the HBCU men(Howard, NC Central , NC A&T,Morgan,etc. ) there was so much wisdom in betwen them both we could call them DR's of the Philosophy of Life,Love, Sex, Drugs, Street Pharmacists, and Parenthood. In the last year and a half all the spark was gone out of a fire that used to burn so bright to 30 years ago, even 10 years ago, now there was nothing but smoke, and she meant smoke. Oh Lord let me make sure that kerosene heater isn't leaking, I mean for the last three years that was all the heat they had. The gas company had turned off the gas services two rented houses ago and she just never seemed to be able to get it turned back on again.

She knows that her sons all adults except for 2 of them should be able to help her, but they had quit high school all of them at 16 years of age, and couldn't find decent employment so they had gone into the family business of street pharmaceuticals also, and we all know that sometimes that is such a lucrative business for the street pharmacists and sometimes it is such a lucrative business for the judges, lawyers, politicians, and jailers that keep them in business or allow them to "do their business". When Phyllis is asked why she doesn't have certain things from her children" she replies this is not a goood time for them, and I don't want them to get into any trouble, so I will lose my lights, heat, water, even food supply, to make them comfortable" Whatever?

Isaac her husband of 30 years had begun to stay with his 2nd wife( you read it right 2nd wife) more and more in the DC area. He came to ATL where Phyllis and their children lived less and less, often times complaining that Phyllis had really "f&*^%$" up their children by not preparing them for brighter futures or at least secure futures, and he just couldn't stand the clutter and mess of their home in ATL. Isaac had always taken care of Phyllis and the children providing them with "all the latest fashions in jewelry, clothes, and foods at of course all the discount barter and trade fair of the urban ghetto", but lately like the last 2 years Isaac was only doing minimum. He was often heard by family and friends saying how lazy, crazy, and sorry Phyllis was, he wanted to know why she just couldn't get a job outside the home and help him pay the bills since she wasn't going to let the children help pay the bills. Isaac reasoned that out of a 365 day year he was only there 50 of those( even when he was in ATL he often stayed in others' homes where it was more quiet and the conversation was....... better).

Phyllis never mind that or so she said, hey if he is paying the bills let him stay out all night, weekend, or a month for that matter. It wasn't until this year that she began to complain, because once he told her 5 or 6 times he was not going to continue' feeding her and them grown @$$ people nor was he paying any bills and he made good on his word, that seemed to have jarred Phyllis memory that they had not had sex in over a year" at least not with one another", they didn't talk kind to one another, or the only time they talk was when he needed her to get his monies or dispense his prescriptions (yeah see how we can get so hungry we will start doing things we said we never would, but Isaac was heard telling someone that she was going to have to work if she expected to eat, so like it or not Phyllis was now a street pharmacist part time, and to think she just couldn't listen when her mother had wanted to send her to college years ago........ she thought to herself).

Phyllis always prided herself in how she fought for her children, know one could ever say she didn't fight any and everyone for "Her" children. She remembered the time that the old crippled Jewish woman from her building in Brooklyn tried to say that her son and nephews( she just took up for nephews because , her son was involved) had been stealing from her. She was tired of this woman on a daily basis, she always complained that the generations of newcomers seem to get worse and worse when Phyllis and everyone else knew that what Ms. Gottbaum really meant was that these "N------S' where getting worse by the generations. To be perfectly honest Phyllis and everyone in the building and the neighborhood thought was why Ms. Gottbaum hadn't just moved on up to Kingston & Troop or Williamsburg along with the rest of "Muschengenas" , but everyone knew that she stayed because her and her family(those was some "hot " women in their day as was the newer generations of the family) just loved that "dark meat" , "pork" , or "unkoshered" meal better known as a "Black Man", and the love that they had for this "strange, exotic , fun, and wonderful,meal would not allow them to be too far from it. Phyllis surmised as did everyone else that Ms. Gottbaum was fooling no one but herself. Now that she had gotten to old to get it like she used to she complained about it, even though some of these delivery men seemed to be in Ms. Gottbaum apartment a mighty long!!!!! time.

Phyllis had cursed Ms. Gottbaun out for everyone in the neighborhood after her girlfriends had told her that Ms. Gottbaum said that the boys had taken different "expensive pieces" of jewelry from her when they went to the store for her and brought in her groceries and especially doing the "Day of Atonement" when she would pay the children a dollar a piece to cut her lights on and off for her. Phyllis felt proud that she had cursed her out because no one and she meant no one could talk about her children and get away with it, it never dawned on Phyllis to find out if what the person or people said was true all that mattered to Phyllis is that you couldn't and wouldn't talk about her children. She also remembered how when they moved to ATL, people wanted to talk about her kids she had straighten those "country bastards also". Phyllis thought about the time that her cousins had told her that her youngest son who was 8 years old at the time was selling drugs on the corner, she cursed them out but good, 2 years later when he started going to court for missing school and had, tested positive for cocaine and marijuana use she felt like a fool but never did she apologize for cursing her cousins out because all that mattered to Phyllis was that you didn't talk about her children, only she could talk about her children, Isaac knew better than to talk about her children even though they were his also.
Stay tuned because Phyllis is a permanent character who persona will appear again..............

Share 

Add a Comment

You need to be a member of Black Writers Connect to add comments!

Join this social network

Brynda G. Saunders Comment by Brynda G. Saunders on November 10, 2008 at 1:55pm
Thanks I am glad you like it I am working on vignettes short stories something. I am trying to maintain, thanks for the review I want more reviews, comments, critiques.
Minister Doresa Armstrong Comment by Minister Doresa Armstrong on November 9, 2008 at 8:43pm
u go girl! Im feelin dat............write dat................

About

LaShanda Henry LaShanda Henry created this social network on Ning.

Black Books Showcase

BlackGirlClick Ad Network

© 2009   Created by LaShanda Henry on Ning.   Create Your Own Social Network

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Privacy  |  Terms of Service