The Legend of Step To

By Sheldon McCormick

Marvin “Step To” Baker is crushed by two untimely personal tragedies. A drunk driver kills his beloved cousin Tim. The chance and glory of Tim and Step To winning an Olympic gold medal, a long-held dream of theirs, is destroyed forever. Step To (an inner-city term which meant to boldly assert one’s self, be courageous, go forth and face challenges with direct action and disregard the risks and results) is left an angry, broken-hearted, ornery and rebellious black man without hope and purpose in his life. He later becomes encouraged and enlightened to help the black community by Elaine, a militant community activist who falls in love with him. In a fit of dispair, however, Step To ends up joining a drug trafficking gang. But when the gang abducts Elaine and holds her and some of her allies hostage, Step To becomes a crusader, hellbent on saving the woman he loves and the black/brown community amidst both violent crime and racial turmoil in 1980 Compton, California.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984587336

Sheldon McCormick

A Los Angeles, California native, McCormick began his writing career while a student at Foshay Junior High School (now the Foshay Learning Center) in 1971. He was a writer for the Los Angeles Sentinel, the Compton Bulletin and several other publications. He was editor of the now-defunct Los Angeles Balance News newspaper in the late 1980s. McCormick received his Associate of Arts degree in journalism from Los Angeles City College May 22, 1986. He is the author of eleven other novels and has written commentaries for his Facebook page.

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Copyright © 2020 by Sheldon McCormick.

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without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible

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Rev. date: 10/15/2020

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Contents

About the Novel

In Memorium

Tributes

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

About the Author

Novels by Sheldon Mccormick

About the Novel

Marvin Step To Baker is crushed by two untimely personal tragedies. A drunk driver kills his beloved cousin Tim. The chance and glory of Tim and Step To winning an Olympic gold medal, a long-held dream of theirs, is destroyed forever. Step To (an inner-city term which meant to boldly assert one’s self, be courageous, go forth and face challenges with direct action and disregard the risks and results) is left an angry, broken-hearted, ornery and rebellious black man without hope and purpose in his life. He later becomes encouraged and enlightened to help the black community by Elaine, a militant community activist who falls in love with him. In a fit of dispair, however, Step To ends up joining a drug trafficking gang. But when the gang abducts Elaine and holds her and some of her allies hostage, Step To becomes a crusader, hellbent on saving the woman he loves and the black/brown community amidst both violent crime and racial turmoil in 1980 Compton, California.

In Memorium

Dedicated in loving memory to my dearest parents Ouida McCormick (1930-1982) and Leon McCormick (1924-1991), Rosemary Almada, Cliff Hall, Louis Wesley Ward, Lay Douglas, Earlean, Rita Walters, Lefon Andrews, Kobe and Gianna Bryant, Aza Kobayan, John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser, Charles Weldon, Sr., Paul Koslo, Virgie Murray, my cousin Arvella Rodgers, Vicky, Lindsey, Larry, Aubry, Brad Pye, Jr., Essie Taylor and all those who died of drug abuse, hate crimes, urban violence and the corona COVID-19 virus pandemic of 2020.

Special tributes to Coach Thomas (Sarge) Johnson (1921-1980), his 22 United States Olympic boxing team members and support staff along with their fellow 87 passengers and crew who perished in a Warsaw, Poland airliner crash on March 14, 1980. And a heartfelt salute to two special women, my beloved aunt Christine McCormick Spurlock (1919-1969) and Marguerite F. Margie Sturgis (1925-1989).

Tributes

Dedicated to Felicia Filer, Diane Frierson, Candice Metoyer-Simpson, Christine Gerstenberger, Michelle Sorey, Linda Maxwell, Lucie Hill, Cynthia Gibson, Beverly White and Xavier Higgs, Shirley Hawkins and Darlene Donloe. Cheers to all of those who have turned their lives around for the better and help to uplift our communities, our first responders, America’s community and social activists, known and unknown, who help, heal, advocate for, protect and defend humankind through positive, progressive, non-violent and life-saving efforts, and KJLH-102.3 FM management and staff. Also to Mr. and Mrs. Adams, Deborah Adams, Omar Bradley, Delores Zurita and Amen Rahh. Special heartfelt tributes to Evelina Barajas, Patricia Moore, Dr. Melina Abdullah, Norma Johnson, Dora Dean, Janice, Dwayne and Greg Washington, Lula Wallace, Pat Prescott, Samantha Geimer, Pat Harvey, Donna Lavigne Kearns and Lisa Fitch.

Chapter One

A warm, spring mid-morning cast its sunny rays through partially cloudy skies over the local track field in a Compton community park. With eased but unison paces, two African-American high school boys, clothed in sweatty gray and red gym attire, jogged around the track.

The breeze generated by their run blew their medium-sized Natural hairdos back. Smiles and flared lips mired their achievement-chiseled, sweat-streaked faces. Tim, in baggy gray boxing trunks and a gray long sleeve sweatshirt, was dark-skinned with a handsome, mature, commanding persona and medium, affable dark eyes below even set bolo-shaped black eyebrows. His face looked like a cross between a cod and a San Clemente Island goat. But easygoing and polite.

His dear cousin, Marvin Step To Baker, picked up speed and registered a puffing smile on his somewhat pork chop-shaped dark tawny face. A circus clown’s light-heartedness aura enlightened Step To’s hyena-like features. As they both rounded the eastern side of the well-manicured track and field, five other young black men engaged in a lively game of basketball at a nearby court just 70 yards away. Two other Mexican-American men enjoyed a fast-paced game of handball. Some other people sat and chatted on some bleechers after a vigorous workout inside the gym just 100 yards from the track.

Tim glanced over at Step To gaining on the former, registered a I’ll sho YOU how to run expression on Tim’s face, then passed Step To by a suddenly burst of speed. Tim managed to race ahead of his track mate, sprint completely around the track for the fourth time and past Step To.

Whoa! Hey, h-hey, road runnuh, slow down!, he said to Tim amidst heavy breaths and chuckles. He slowed down, stopped and bent over with both hands on his knees. Sweat ran and dripped from Step’s forehead, face and double chin. Tim paused in front of his beloved cousin, both puffing a drenched in perspiration. We been workin’ out for damn near two hours, man.

Step To stood and faced Tim, who answered back with an approving, self-assured smile. Wha-you wanna win the Olympic track and field tryouts by yoself?

Hey, my brother, the games are set for 1976, Tim said and placed his right hand on Step To’s rugged left shoulder. We got to get ourselves ready to win that gold medal. We’ll be the first two family members to pull it off! Ha, ha, ha! We’ll be World champions, Step! Tim rubbed his cousin’s Natural in a playful and supportive manner.

He and Tim were the embodiment, the pride, of young black unity and manhood, an unseen medium deep Kentucky drawl with a heavy, sobered urban edge to it recalled from a long ago sound. Step To huffed and puffed as he benched pressed a three hundred pound free weight four times. His big bicep, tricep, chest, shoulders and abdomen flexed solid, bulged muscles.

Tim struggled and sweated through strength-muscled arms with curls with 90 pound dumbells. Them two young guys were a unstopable, confident team of athletes, the unseen black man recalled. Running, weight lifting, flyweight boxing, handball. Man, Tim and Marvin won All-City, Tri-State and Inner City High School awards, medals, trophies and acolades galore in the sports field. The man’s voice rose