Shelton Family Saga

Chapter 12

Not Looking Back

Hollywood
Sat. Apr. 01, 1972, 10:07 a.m.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
State Penitentiary, Eastham Unit
Riverside, TX

With a glassless metal criss cross lattice style window in front of him, Hollywood's large, round, dark colored eyes shone with excitement as he seated himself across from his first visitor of the Easter Sunday weekend.

"Hi momma. I'm glad you're here. I know you drove a long way to see me."

"Harvey, when are you supposed to be getting out of this place?"

"Momma you know they gave me ten years. I'm just now on year eight."

"Well, Harvey there's supposed to be some kind of early release like parole or some way they have for you to make it out of this place quicker. And, for the record, ain't nobody GAVE you ten years, you earned that all by yourself running with that troublemaker friend of yours."

"How IS Hoochie doing, momma?"

"You mean you don't know Harvey? In all this time you've been locked up, you haven't heard from your friend? I thought y'all were tight. Best friends. Ace boon coons. Oh, let me guess, Harvey. Y'all WERE til that bank got robbed and then he didn't know you no more, huh?"

"No momma, thats not true at all. He writes me and comes to see me every month since I been in here, telling me how things are on the outside, but I was just asking you momma, in case your story is different from what he be saying."

"Well, Harvey, you know I don't speak foul of no one, so I'm not saying anything...... 'cept maybe he ought to be trying to get his life together. Specially seeing how things are for you. Goodness knows he's had plenty of time to get right with Jehovah. You would think he would be trying to do something better." 

Hollywood interrupted, "but he is momma."

"Is what Harvey?"

"Doing better momma. Don't you see? I mean, he ain't caged up in here."

"Harvey Lamont Greene, why are you still taking up for him? All these years passed, and you're STILL making excuses for him." She shook her head in disbelief. "If your daddy was here to witness this..." she exasperated shaking her head in disbelief again before continuing, "Thank Jehovah his soul is at peace."

Hollywood's heart sank into his stomach. She had called him by his full government moniker, and all the elation he felt having his momma sitting in front of him was reinstated with immense grief in that moment. He did his best not to show it. He kept his head held high, as he fought back the tears. He was crushed though. He would never forgive himself for what the trial did to his daddy. It had been such a chaotic scene that day. When they found Hollywood guilty and the judge sentenced him to 10 years of confinement in a maximum security penal institution for the crime committed, the sound of his momma's scream was so piercing. It was followed by a loud thud as his daddy collapsed on the courtroom floor holding his chest. The bailiff realized his daddy was having a heart attack and dispatched for an ambulance from his walkie talkie. The memory of it all was too much to bear. Hollywood stood up. Not much had changed since the day he had entered eight years ago. He was still 6' tall with his medium heavy build and full head of thick coarse black hair and sideburns.

"Well, momma they don't really like us to spend too much time out here. They say it throws us off from our rehabilitation program, so I better be getting on back. Sorry you had to drive so far."

And, just like that Hollywood turned and walked away toward the visitation door. With hot tears burning his face, he never made a sound and never looked back.