Spirits and Demons

Growing Pains

                                                               Part Seventeen

  Everyone became sick with fever and James Michael had no idea what medicines were needed. He called his grandmother to see if she knew and if she had the right medicine. She assured him there was cold medicine in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. James Michael understood the adult dosage that was labeled on the bottle, yet he didn't know about dosage use for children. He went ahead and gave Jimmy Don, Ricky, Ronny, and himself an adult dosage. He was going to cut the dosage in half for Tommy and Kathy but he thought he better get a second opinion from someone older whom knew more. When he called his grandmother back to ask her, he overheard her and Vernon arguing loudly. He told her he'd talk to her later, though she couldn't possibly have heard him over the drunken, loud arguing between Vernon and herself.  Worrying himself to death, James Michael needed to think and went outside to sit in the rocker on the wrap around porch. Whilst sitting there rocking he noticed an old neighbor across the street sitting on her porch. He thought a while more and decided to go over, introduce himself and ask her if she might know what amount of cold medicine to give a three and one year old child. He got up and nervously walked across the street and introduced himself. He was nervous since Arlis had told him and all his siblings to never speak or have anything to do with the niggers. James Michael recalled hearing this nigger word many times before, when Arlis would rant and rave about black niggers. In the South, traditions go a long way. The present year 1966, the word nigger was used commonly.  Reading the local newspaper, James Michael knew the word negro was used though he never heard Arlis say negro. Given the situation, there was no one else available to ask for help so James Michael met Essie Mae and discovered she was a very nice, black lady. He could barely understand what she said so he asked her to write on paper the instructions pertaining to giving children cold medicine. As soon as she wrote the instructions down for him he went back home and admistered the medicine to Tommy and Kathy. After several days they both became well again, much to James Michael's relief. He'd called his mother in Kansas City, to ask her yet Billy Ray was in a drunken rage and James Michael wasn't able to speak with her for very long. She was drunk also and told James Michael she'd call him back the next day if Billy Ray went to work. James Michael gave up waiting, and knew the situation was urgent, he was so glad that he braved going across the street to get the information from Essie Mae. Later in the week when Virginia was able to call and ask about his siblings, he related to her that he'd gotten help from a black neighbor and that everyone was well now. Virginia related she'd be in to visit the next chance she could get, though it all depended upon Billy Ray allowing her the money for gas to travel to Louisiana. James Michael informed her the money she'd left had all been spent on food and the bills. Virginia related to him that she'd get Arlis to just start bringing the child support over and give to him instead of mailing it to her in Missouri.

  James Michael called Arlis to ask him when he'd be bringing the child support over since groceries were needed and bills needed to be paid. Arlis responded that he'd come by after work that day. James Michael had stayed out of school the entire week, trying to get everyone well. Once he and his siblings had gotten well, Jimmy, Ricky, and Ronny went back to school and Tommy and Kathy stayed home with him an extra day. During the day, Tommy and Kathy were taking their nap so James Michael went across the street to tell Essie Mae thank you for all her help. Essie Mae lived in an unpainted flatboard house near the railroad tracks. All the negro's houses along the track were unpainted clapboard houses. They all leaned and looked like they would fall down anytime yet many negro families lived in them without hitch. James Michael asked Essi Mae why all the houses were unpainted and why did they lean so bad like they were going to fall down. She related that since the great flood of '31, that all the houses near the tracks were flooded and that there never were any improvements made. While letting this information sink inside his mind, James Michael was surprised to see Arlis driving up to his house across the street. He knew that Arlis had seen him speaking to Essie Mae so he told her bye until later and he slowly crossed the street back home to where Arlis was sitting in his car. Arlis went into a rage, screaming at him about associating with niggers. When James Michael related to Arlis that he had to get information about cold medicine dosage for Tommy and Kathy, Arlis became louder and louder for the entire neighborhood to hear him. He cursed and cursed, faulting Virginia for not being around when the kids needed her. In the back of James Michael's mind, he could also hear his grandmother's voice since she'd cursed his mother too for the very same reason. Finally Arlis gave him the weekly child support money, cursed some more, telling him that if he ever saw him talking to another nigger that he'd give him a beating that he'd never forget for the rest of his life. Scared and shaking, James Michael told Arlis thank you for bringing the child support money by since groceries were needed. Arlis burned rubber driving off cursing whilst James Michael kept his focus on the next days chores. He'd have to call a taxi to take him to the bank to deposit the child support, then to the grocery store to purchase enough groceries to last for a week for five siblings and himself. Virginia had an agreement with the grocery store manager to have the baby milk for Kathy included in the groceries every week that James Michael would be picking up. Pay the taxi driver after he'd brought James Michael back home, unload the groceries, get Virginia's checkbook and write out the checks for the month's utilities and get them in the mail. As soon as the groceries were in the house, Ricky and Ronny would go crazy and eat all they could never once giving thought thought about making the groceries last a full week. Try as he might, James Michael could never get Ricky and Ronny to understand the groceries had to be organized in a manner to make a meal each evening and to ration the rest of the food so everyone would have equal amounts to eat. When the money and groceries would run out, James Michael would not eat so there would be enough food for his younger siblings. Jimmy Don rarely came home and when he did, he hardly ate since his drug addiction was out of control. James Michael asked him if he was eating anything and he said he was eating at his friend's house the times he didn't come home to eat. James Michael reassured Jimmy Don he'd save him something to eat, though he at least had to let him know when he'd be coming home. It was difficult to slow Ricky and Ronny's eating habits down, they ate like they never knew where their next meal would be coming from and they were growing bigger and bigger.