A Boy in the South

By Arthur J. Solomon

Sometimes, life is like a revolving door. As a teenager, when I left Georgia to pursue a better life and to see the world, I told myself I would never live here again. 70 years later, after all my travels and being in so many places, I accomplished my dream; with many prayers. I was determined not to return, but somehow, I found myself back in Georgia, where I started. Life has changed a great deal since my younger days. Many loved ones, the homes where I lived, and the places I use to go are gone. One thing that remains is my memory of them and the times we shared. I still enjoy a drive to the country, visiting the old places, and on occasion, I take my children and grandchildren with me on those rides and tell them stories about the little boy who grew up in the south.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 16, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664148185

Arthur J. Solomon

Arthur J. Solomon is an eighty-seven-year-old native of Augusta, Georgia. He served twenty-one years in the US Army. Raised by his parents, grandparents, and neighborhood elders, they worked together and enjoyed gathering around telling stories called shooting-the-bull. As a youth, he moved several times to various farms where he worked, played, and eyeballed the pretty girls. He married young, had six children, and built a comfortable life for his family. Through ups, downs, and challenges, he endured several life lessons. Many years later, after his children were grown, he decided to remarry, and he and his wife currently reside in Georgia. Arthur has fifteen grandchildren and over 28 great-grandchildren who all love, respect, and admire him dearly.

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Chapter 1

Once there was a boy who was born and lived in the south. There were two brothers born and lived in Georgia for several years. The older brother named Jug was born in a little town in Screven County, and the younger brother named RJ was born in Augusta. As they grew, they were told by their father at a young age that living in the south was hell if you did not know how to survive and take care of yourself.

In 1927, their father Bo from Augusta met a girl named Bell, she was from the little town of Sylvania, and they lived about sixty miles from each other. Augusta was the big city back then, with lots of paved streets and buildings compared to Sylvania, the country, mostly dirt roads and wooden houses. But, as fate would have it, Bo and Bell met each other in Sylvania during one of Bo’s visits. They were both young and were wilder than two people on a loose sled falling off a snowfall mountain. They later fell in love, got married, and had two sons.

Before they got married, and while they were getting to know one another, Bo walked from Augusta to Sylvania to see Bell whenever he got a chance. It was no joke walking sixty miles from home one way to see the girl he was in love with, and during that time, walking by foot was his only transportation. Sometimes there were cars on the road, and Bo would hitch a ride; however, most of the vehicles on the road were cop cars. It was a pain in the neck for people of color to be caught walking alone, and he did not want any trouble. Bo was the only one walking on the road at times, and the local people didn’t know him. He was from a different town, and he knew that some of those dirty cops would most likely start some trouble. So, when he saw the cops cruising on the road in his direction, at times, he got nervous walking by himself with no backup. His only hope was to hide in the woods until it was clear to come out.

In those days, the cops did not like seeing people of color walking on the road that far away from their hometown, especially if they were not from that area. You had to know somebody and know how to keep the peace. So, Bo did what he had to do to avoid any trouble and do what he needed to survive. At times, that meant to run and sometimes thumb for a ride when he felt safe to do so. Other times, Bo was on the back of some folks horse and buggy, riding a mule, the end of a wagon, or on the back of somebody’s bicycle. When he had enough money, he even caught the train to make it to and from Bell’s house safely.

Regardless of the way he got there, he was very thankful for the rides. It was a very long road to walk back and forth from Augusta to Screven County; if he had to walk every step of the way, he had no idea how long his shoes were going to last. As the saying goes, Love will make you do impossible things. Bo was lucky enough to have two pairs of shoes, one for work or play and the other for church or going somewhere special. So, he had an extra pair of shoes if he needed them. He was just that determined to see his Bell, and they were happy when they got together.

He continued to go back and forth until they decided they were ready to settle down. After a couple of years, they got married and moved in with Bo’s mom, Cellie, in Augusta. They had one bedroom in the house, and it was large enough for both of them. Bo later found himself a job at Bob Cox and Will Cox. He made enough money to support himself and Bell and had enough left to help his mom with her bills. Bo and Bell were happy together and got along fine living with his mom.

In 1930, Bell gave birth to their firstborn son, Jug. He was born at Bell’s mother’s house in Screven County. Her mother’s name was Mae. Everyone was so happy when Jug was born, and shouts for joy went out in the neighborhood. Bo’s mother, Cellie, loved Jug like a cat loves a spool of thread dangling in the air. She was one happy grandmother. Both grandmothers loved Jug.

After a few days in Screven County, they headed back to Augusta. Most of Bo’s kinfolk lived door to door from one another in Augusta, and some of them were as mean as pit bulls. They fought anybody, even if they got their butts beat, win or lose, they did not mind a good fight. They were ready, waiting for someone to look at them in the wrong way.

Bo loved to tell stories about himself, and the people gathered around to hear his funny stories. He told a story of when he got into a fight with his sister’s husband, James. Bo and James were fighting all over the place. Bo was winning the battle big-time until James found and got his hand on a big rusty gun, and that was when things began to change. Bo grabbed his hat and ran towards the door because things just got a little too hot for him. A fool for a brother-in-law with a gun in his hands was no joke. James would shoot you, or you would have to shoot him, and Bo was not sticking around to let that happen. So they both put up some fast running in that dirt yard, around that old wooded house, they ran in the sand barefooted trying to catch the other. Bo was trying to get away, and James was trying hard to get him, but Bo was too fast. Bo outran his brother-in-law out of sight and dived underneath the house to take a breather.

His brother-in-law did not know he was under the house, and he just kept on running around the house, trying to catch him. Bo was underneath the house, laughing to himself and looking at that fool just running around the house with a gun trying to catch him. That man was so mad with Bo that he was drooling at the mouth like a dog.

James ran himself until he was just about out of breath. Finally, he gave up on the fight, and it was over. He never did catch or find Bo, which was a good thing because if he did, that fool probably would have shot him. After telling that true story, Bo had everyone hollering laughing.

Bo and Bell enjoyed taking trips to Screven County to see his mother-in-law Mae. During the trips, Bo especially liked walking on the wild side with those folks who wanted to slip off into the woods to sneak a drink. Bo loved going to those country juke joints, and as he would say, I just had to shake a leg and get a little wild sometimes. After the fun was over, he made sure he came back home sober, with his head on straight between his shoulders. He walked around his in-laws with light feet when he got in the house.

Bell’s family, on both sides, were deep into church and religion. If anybody wanted to have wild parties around them, it was just out of the question. That did not happen, especially if some of what they called happy juice hidden in the woods was involved, and man, did those folks get happy. So, if anyone wanted to do a house party, they had to go somewhere else, that was not happening around those religious folks or in their house. Bo had no problems with the house rules and did not have any trouble staying there. They just hung out at other places for parties. After all their visits, they went back home to start their week.

As time went by, Bo wasn’t making enough money and wanted to do more for his family, so he signed up to serve in the US Army at the CC Camp in Tennessee, similar to the National Guard. The job they gave him was good, and he was doing okay. Bo saw Bell and the boys whenever he got a pass to go home and rode by train.

Bell and Jug were still living at Grandma Cellie’s house in Augusta. Jug was growing like a weed, and he was almost three years old. Bo continued to ride back-and-forth to visit the family, and in between those times, in 1933, another baby boy was born. He was as fat as a Koala bear, and they called him RJ, and Jug called him little brother. They loved that baby and passed him around from one to another like they were having Thanksgiving Dinner on a platter. They were so happy to have two boys in the family. But, they spoiled that baby boy like a baby kangaroo in his mother’s pouch, always carrying him around.

As the boys grew older, Bo and Bell decided to take them to Bishop Grace church or, as some folks might say, Daddy Grace Church. At the church, those boys watched some of those folks dance like chickens and run up and down the aisle to the music when they got happy. During that time, organizations of churches were the biggest thing going on almost all over the south. They held big parades in Augusta and marched around the city, and Daddy Grace himself threw candy out to the people, mostly to the kids, which was an exciting thing for them. It made the kids extra jolly and happy, picking up candy and watching the parade.

Grandma Cellie marched those boys in that parade until they fell asleep. It seemed like the people loved Daddy Grace more than anything. During church service, the two boys saw members pin money all over the Bishop’s clothes while sitting in his big chair. He would have a big grin on his face, from ear to ear, and wave his hands for more. The boys were too young to understand what was going on, but it looked like a good thing. Those people were jumping and shouting all over the church.

Later as months passed, RJ got sick, and it wasn’t promising; it was life-threatening. Bell and Grandma Cellie rushed him to the nearest hospital in Augusta. After the doctor examined him, they found out that he had a case of double pneumonia. They thought that he would not make it. It was so bad that they called Bo to come home from CC Camp to see his son. Bo was there with RJ and the family for over three weeks, in and out of the hospital. The whole family was there to see him in the hospital as much as they could. Grandma Cellie and Grandma Mae prayed over RJ, and God certainly answered their prayers. When Bo and Bell went to the hospital to see RJ, there he was, a fat bundle of joy jumping up and down on the bed with his arms stretched out, reaching for someone to give him a big hug. Everybody was so glad to see that he was coming back to life. Within the next two days, RJ continued to get better, and the doctor gave him the okay to go home, and everybody continued to spoil him. Thank God for answered prayers!

At the beginning of the following week, Bo returned to the CC Camp, and he stayed until his time was up. After his duty there was finished, he decided not to enlist anymore, especially after the scare with RJ and to be so far away. Bo made it his last trip to Tennessee to be home to be with his family. What joy that was for the boys when they saw their father coming home. Bo played with his wife and two sons like never before. He built a fence around the house with a locked gate to keep the boys inside. Anytime the gate was left open, that was the perfect time for Jug to slip off with his little brother to the corner store for candy, and they came back home with bags of goodies that the owner of the store gave them. Bo made sure the gate was locked at all times to keep the boys from slipping away from the yard. But sometimes, other folks left it unlocked, which gave the boys another chance to go through that gate to get more candy. Before making their big getaway, they made sure that their mom was out of sight.

Those boys were loved and known by so many people in the community, and back then, people looked out for one another and each other’s children. Everybody knew everybody’s family and where they lived, so they were pretty close, and if anybody had a problem with the kids, they had no problem spanking their butts. Best believe when their parents heard about it, they had another one coming. So, they tried their best to stay out of trouble.

Chapter 2

In the city of Augusta, they had a unique and beautiful parade once a year. It was the biggest parade in town with people showing off their different talents, and they had all kinds of animals there. Grandma Cellie decided to take Jug and RJ to the festival. She got them dressed, and they walked down the streets. The boys loved the parade and all the excitement and the different sounds from the animals. They marched down the streets a few blocks from where they lived. Folks were watching, laughing, waving their hands, enjoying the food, and having lots of fun. It was great to be there with friends.

Within an hour or so of watching the parade go by, Grandma Cellie saw those big elephants coming down the street, and she did not want the boys to know how scared she was. While watching them come closer, she said to herself, I think this was a big mistake, bringing these boys to this parade. She saw those big elephants coming down the street, and she knew that the boys were not going to do well with those big elephants either. They were not going to be still, and she was right. When those two brothers saw those big elephants wagging their butts coming down the street, their eyes got big as a quarter. Those boys snatched away from their grandmother’s hands and took off running to the house. It seemed like their feet were only touching the high spots on the ground like they were running a race leaving Grandma Cellie in the dust. There was no way she could catch up with them. After getting home, they dived straight underneath the bed and hid for some time before coming out.

They started playing jokes on Grandma Cellie and enjoyed hiding from her. Their hiding spots were so good that when she could not find them after looking for them, all she had to say was, Here come the elephants, and those boys came out from their hiding place, running and screaming like a mouse running away from a cat. She would laugh to herself because she knew exactly how to get them out of hiding. Those boys were her joy, and she loved playing with them, and they were as happy to be with her as she was with them, and they always stuck close to her. She loved those boys so much that she would not spank them and would let them get away with a lot of things. She had those boys spoiled, but momma didn’t play that. Grandma Cellie did the daily care for the boys, and Bo and Bell did the rest. Things went well for the family while living in Augusta. As the boys grew up and were getting bigger, Bo and Bell had enough city life. They wanted to give the boys a chance to live in the country, grow up healthy, learn how to survive in the wild, and take care of themselves.

In 1937, Bo, Bell, and the boys moved to Screven County, in the country, with their father’s brother, Uncle Dave. The land where he lived was a big farm owned by a doctor. One sad day for the boys was to leave their Grandma Cellie; they had no choice or say so about moving away in the country. Grandma Cellie was sad but knew that they would be okay. They had more playing time and lots of running space for exercise there. The boys had a hard time getting used to being in the country. Living without their grandmother and so many of their city friends was different. They missed the corner stores and running from those big elephants. But when they did catch on to country life, they had a lot more fun.

Uncle Dave was treated well there and ran the farm with very little or no money at all. The good thing was, he did not have to worry about buying food. All their food was grown or raised there on the farm. Uncle Dave and his wife, Aunt Mooch, caught fish from the ponds, and they hunted the wild food they wanted to eat; Bo and Bell were welcome to do the same thing. It was hard in those days if you were born with different skin color, and Jug and Art had to learn how to grow up through all of it. Bo and Bell knew that it would not be easy for them, but the boys would have to get over it and learn life’s lessons. Bo knew he had many things to teach the boys about how to take care of themselves, and there were lots of things for the boys to do on the farm and have fun, and they did.

While living in Screven County for a while, Grandma Cellie moved from Augusta, Georgia, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and that was the last time the boys saw her. They did not get a chance to see her get on the bus. After she settled down in Philadelphia, she always sent her love to the boys with lots of presents and a handful of dollars.

The boys got used to the farm and picked and ate berries, cherries, plums, grapes, fruits, nuts, and lots of raw vegetables. They got most of their exercise by running in the fields, and that was okay; it made them big and strong. But it did take them a few months to get used to hiding in the woods; they thought it was part of a game that their father was teaching them. Even though they were little boys, they had the best of times being with their dad. He taught them how to survive and live off the land. Bo also told the boys about when he was a young boy growing up. He learned to live off the land and dodge the wrong folks.

As the boys got used to their new home, they began to run wild, playing all over the farm. They were having a ball playing in the sand, digging in the dirt, and building houses. They were happy and enjoyed their life on the farm even though they missed their Grandma Cellie very much. Bo and Bell took them to visit their neighbors and friends. The boys played the whole day with the other kids and had unthinkable fun. One thing about the country, it seemed like time went by so slow, and there was always something to do. There were kids at every end of the road; some were bad, and some were good.