Lovingly and Orderly: A Son's Lament

By Jr. Theodore (Ted) Shorter

The sudden passing of a mother devoted to the worship and acknowledgment of the Lord God in the rearing of her children, when she's the only parent in the family, is a traumatic and enduring time that will expose vulnerabilities to the moral foundation and essence of the family.

Confronted with one adversity after another

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Media Reviews
• Release date: Mar 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781958091005

Book preview

BOOK REVIEW

Reviewed by Lynette Fowlston for Readers' Favorite

Lovingly and Orderly: A Son's Lament by Theodore Shorter, Jr. is a very poignant story which will seem familiar to many. Pauline Shorter was the matriarch of her family. She raised 3 girls and 2 boys in west Chicago, a place regulated for all colored folks to live. Raising them to be God-fearing children and to abstain from evil was not easy as she was a single parent. When she needed help, she called Theodore (Ted), who was always there. As the children grew older, they all went their own way, ignoring their mother. It took her hospitalization, being kept alive on a ventilator, to bring her children back to her. Jealousy reigned in the hearts of the four siblings. An older sister took charge, even before their mother’s death; she managed through malicious betrayal to leave Ted out of everything. It took being in and out of court to get justice for what his siblings had done.

This is a long book but an enjoyable read. It shows just how jealousy and death can tear a family apart as greed takes over. The author takes the reader back to the birth of his mother in Georgia up to the time of her death, and we follow the trials and tribulations that he went through with his brother and sisters. I found the history of the family to be quite interesting, but at times, I got a little lost trying to remember who he was talking about at the beginning of the book. It becomes quite clear to the reader that all their mother did for the children and what she taught them flew out the window the minute money and property were at stake. For anyone who has had to deal with this, they will understand just what the author went through with his siblings. Recommended reading.

Instead of taking the road they wanted to cross the field; you’ve got to do something about that!

Randall P. Shorter, quote from my beloved grandfather, born July 17, 1907, and died May 21, 2007

To my entire family I apologize for offending you in any way. The plea of our beloved grandfather for his family was, To love one another.

RESOLUTION

Sponsored by

THE HONORABLE JOHN H. STROGER, JR.

PRESIDENT OF THE COOK COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Co-Sponsored by

THE HONORABLE JERRY BUTLER, ALLAN C. CARR, EARLEAN COLLINS, JOHN P. DALEY, GREGG GOSLIN, CARL R. HANSEN, TED LECHOWICZ, ROBERTO MALDONADO, WILLIAM R. MORAN, JOSEPH MARIO MORENO, MIKE QUIGLEY, HERBERT T. SCHUMANN, JR., PETER N. SILVESTRI, DEBORAH SIMS, BOBBIE L. STEELE AND CALVIN R. SUTKER

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

WHEREAS, Almighty God in His infinite wisdom has called from our midst;

Pauline Edith Shorter

Born into time April 27, 1931

Passed into eternity November 7, 2000; and

WHEREAS, Pauline K. Shorter grew up in

Benevolence, Georgia; and

WHEREAS, Pauline K. Shorter graduated from Randolph County Training High School in, Cuthbert Georgia and moved to Newark, New Jersey to further her education and training in nursing; and

WHEREAS, Pauline K. Shorter moved to Chicago on December 8, 1952 and married the late Theodore R. Shorter and to this union five children were born, Paula, Pamela, Rosamond, Theodore Jr. and John; and

WHEREAS, Pauline was a devoted employee of Chicago’s Community Employment Program (CEP) where she began in 1965. For twenty-eight years, she yearly recruited over 200 children ranging from the ages of 14 to 21 for summer employment, organized summer trips, camp recreation, the Garden and Flower Program, recruited children for lead poison testing and assisted with the Utility Financial Assistance Program; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Shorter later worked for the Chicago Police Department until she retired in 1993 to care for her mother; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Shorter further served her community as an active member of the CAPS Program and never tired of helping her neighbors; and

WHEREAS, Pauline was well known to all as the family historian; and

WHEREAS, Pauline served her community and her church as a Eucharistic Minister, administering to the sick and terminally ill at the University of Illinois Medical Center; and

WHEREAS, Pauline K. Shorter leaves to cherish her memory her five loving children; her brother-in-law, Clarence Wood; her two daughters-in-law, Evelyn and Darlene; her two sons-in-law, Gregory Mannie and John A. Lewis; ten grandchildren; one great-grandson; one niece and three nephews.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board of Commissioners of Cook County does hereby express its deep sorrow at the death of Pauline K. Shorter and offers its heartfelt sympathy to her family in their hour of sorrow and joins them in honoring her memory; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be tendered to the family of Pauline K. Shorter as a memorial of her good works and spread upon the official proceeding of this Honorable Body.

Approved and adopted this 5th day of December

2000.

JOHN H. STROGER, JR., President Cook County Board of Commissioners

INTRODUCTION

D eath is not about grieving, but it is about adjusting to the loss of the loved one.

What I read was an overwhelming and defining statement I observed in the final edition of the Chicago Sun-Times that immediately captured my attention, while I thumbed through the pages of the newspaper. At the commencement of the new millennium, while we were all concerned about the year 2000 problem for computers, my beloved mother died without warning and my world was about to change dramatically in an unforeseen manner in the land of Lincoln.

Approximately four years after my observation of the assertion in the local newspaper, I engaged in a protracted probate court proceeding involving my deceased mother’s estate. It was an awful, outrageous case in the name of jurisprudential exploitation and the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois Probate Division was shamelessly attempting to adjudicate the horrible criminal activity, in the pursuit of a profound miscarriage of justice in the rejection of state statutes.

We rarely hear about the proceedings in the Cook County Probate Court reported in the media unless it involves some high profiled celebrity who has an expensive, unique, or elaborate estate. In fact, there is no official unbiased accounting of the proceedings in the day-to-day operations of the probate court.

Heirs, those who would like to be heirs, creditors and God knows whoever else is looking forward to getting something someone else had upon his or her death. Based upon the ruthless attitudes and customs prevalent in our society to accumulate wealth, I hope that my experience was my first and last encounter with the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois Probate Division.

I must say the dreadful encounter that I had with the probate court was an insult to life, yes; death does have its benefits. The benefit of death is obtained from the fact that the truth is not a myth for others to interpret based on their hidden agendas that we are forced to live by in shame, misery, desolation, and sin.

It is that way in the Circuit Court of Cook County, IL Probate Division because of the inclination of the institution through the dereliction of its duties to enforce the laws enacted by the Illinois State Legislature. After my vile encounter with the Circuit Court of Cook County, IL Probate Division, I completely understood the reason behind the lack of accountability by the public officials directly associated with the legal institution in the state of Illinois.

The absence of the accountability and the misapplication of law and procedure by judges and attorneys expose law abiding citizens to criminals. It is forbidden for individuals in the legal profession to perform their duties in the capacity of public service at their personal whims. According to the words of the first President of the United States of America, George Washington, Laws made by common consent must not be trampled on by individuals.

The conduct that George Washington prohibited through his declaration has no pertinent meaning for those in the positions of public service in the political and governmental bodies in the state of Illinois, most notably in Cook County. Abuse of the public trust is truly immeasurable in our society.

In our society today, there is an apparent misuse of authority on behalf of those serving the people driven by social and economic concerns. During the inception of this country, tyranny and oppression led to desolation, poverty and servitude for the inhabitants who occupied the land here in North America. It is the responsibility of the court to protect the people from the misapplication of power and criminal activity through the application of law in the name of justice, no matter the communal and financial ramifications involved.

When the Founding Fathers gathered to form this great nation, through the establishment of the Constitution of the United States of America, controlling the abuse of power was the main objectives of the architects of our great democracy. Procedures and state statutes also have been created to prevent those who use their legal authority to prey upon others in an illegal context with the aforethought of malice.

I would like to point out that this was my experience, and this is not to infer that it applies to all courts of law in our great nation. The courts in the United States of America are institutions where there is a strict adherence to the law. Through the court system in this nation is the measure where we determine if this man is right and that man is wrong, according to the application of the law in our democratic society.

When the courts fail in that responsibility, it has a profound, detrimental impact to our democracy. The proposition is courts in the United States America are hallowed places of truth, honor, and justice. When those principles are violated by unscrupulous attorneys and shady judges, the impact is felt in every American community.

The death of my mother was a terrible and heartbreaking time that I will never forget for the rest of my life in this world. It was also a traumatizing time that changed the course of my life forever as a citizen in the United States of America. I passionately pray with all my heart, mind, and soul that no other American citizen will have the sorrowful misfortune to withstand what I had to endure after the death of my beloved mother, to destroy her family.

The repercussions from my mother’s surprising and abrupt departure from this world was a period that would ultimately have an adverse impact on my life. My mother was the source of a vital family link that I relied upon for a sense of integrity, wisdom, and direction throughout my entire life on this planet. After Pauline’s death every semblance of honesty, commonsense and order was callously torn asunder from her family.

All the family members impacted by the death of the loved one must make the necessary adjustments through their time measured existence on earth. Death on earth for man can infiltrate through any manufactured obstacle in our society, no matter how much money is allocated to prevent it, or the medical research involved to suspend the loss of life based upon our individual interpretations of living in this carnal and sinful world.

All the fundamental, necessary adjustments do not occur according to any specific timetable. There are no known psychological benchmarks to indicate the beginning, middle or end associated with the adjustments of life, in connection with the physical departure of the loved one from this world.

Unfortunately, there is no quick relief in the form of a drug or coping strategy to facilitate the modification of life without the loved one. The remainder of the world continues to keep on going without feeling the impact of the loss of the dearly departed relative.

There are no handicaps in our civilization due to the reduction in force to the family. The objective is to forget the sad memory of the death of the dearly departed family member. It does not matter how difficult that effort may be. To demonstrate the appearance of closure, it is imperative that sad memory of the deceased family member be forgotten to move on with the pressing business matters or other occurrences in life without the loved one.

The decedent’s relatives in worst case scenarios close ranks in splinter groups to protect their own exclusive interests and continue to live in fear of their own existence through some unforeseen situation or condition.

There are no regulatory signs or color indicators to warn us of what is up ahead on life’s road. We cannot say that we did not know, because not knowing cannot be used as an excuse if we become consumed by grief. Economic concerns will take precedence and devour under a deceptive cloak of devout rituals and legal procedures to admonish those who mourn with devotion, sincerity, and compassion.

In the meantime, and in between time, we must keep abreast with inventions, traditions, customs, fads, laws, and institutions that have been established to promote life. These things bring strife to life. Our passage through life is detrimentally scarred by lies, cowardice, greed, envy, hatred, and jealousy.

Customs, institutions, and manufactured law reflect those thoughts and provide us with a distorted sense of security and well-being. The perception in our society is the application of the laws will protect a validated interest constructed through The Lord God. On the contrary, the fair and unbiased application of manufactured law in our free enterprise, capitalistic society is obscured by those who have an abundance of wealth, influence, and prestige to ensure that their interests are protected.

When The Lord God created man on this earth, it was not the result of a narcissistic inspired economic enterprise. Our purpose in life has been confined by the accumulation of the material, temporal effects of this world. We are free to live, but we are bound by the limits of what we cannot see that transcend our finite existence on earth. Love, order, truth, justice, mercy, and good faith are the bedrock of an infinite existence.

However, in our iniquity, we seek to judge according to our selfish desires and needs, to obliterate those tenets to make life confined to the relative concept of a time and place here on earth. From our existence on earth, The Lord God is the one and only judge who can determine if those tenets have been adhered to.

Faith can become an obstacle, instead of an inspiration to endure. The legacy of a loved one is sometimes overlooked and the personal agendas of those attempting to collect their remains—both physical and nonphysical—become articles of contention.

With the advancements of medical science and the capitalistic society in which we live, death has become a callous business that in some cases can tear a family completely apart. When it is a crucial time to show true love and devotion, jealousy and hatred accompanied by conflict will emerge.

Individuals consumed with selfishness and merciless greed attempt to collect upon the decedent’s remains appeal to those who are looking to gain something from the residuals of the personal effects of the dearly departed. As a result, friends, and other members outside of the immediate family become conspirators and replacements for the individual who has passed away.

The immediate family members are incapable of mourning the death of the loved one as descendants of the same lineage continuing to connect with each other with love and order. At this time, allow me to share my compelling American story that I lived with my beloved mother before and immediately after her tragic and sudden death.

I

TRAUMA 

It was a cool, sunny, October morning, Friday, October 27, 2000, to be exact. I was at work carrying out the tasks of my job and I was notified by the emergency response communication personnel that my presence was required at the former Cook County Hospital.

When I departed from home in route to work a few hours earlier, I looked at my mother’s house and it was a brisk autumn good morning. The morning sun was shining bright on my mother’s home. At the time I got into my vehicle, I was just thinking how much The Lord God had blessed my mother and me to live to see another beautiful day together on earth. There were no signs of a potential problem that I noticed when I began to think about my mother like every morning I arose, because she was the inspiration throughout my life.

In fact, the previous morning my mother walked across the street to visit me to look at some work I completed at my house. Driven by a sudden impulsive urge, Pauline came over to see the renovation work I completed at my house across the street.

I discussed my home improvement plans with my mother some time ago at her home. When we talked about my intentions to redesign my kitchen at my home Pauline said, When you finish that over there, I want you to come over here and do something with this kitchen…I’m tired of this paneling!

Pauline wanted me to do some work at her home also, after I completed my kitchen home improvement project at my house. I was in the bed sleep yesterday morning and did not immediately come to the door when I heard my mother knocking.

Pauline was departing through the gate and closing it behind her with her mustard yellow coat on, hood over her head when I saw her from the window on the second floor to identify who was knocking on the door. I rose the window and told my mother that I was coming down to let her in the house.

After Pauline reacted to my voice, she turned around to face me, securing the hasp attached to the gate on the wrought iron fence. My mother looked up towards the window where I was standing with her hood draping her eyes and she responded, I’ll look at it later. Upon finishing her statement, Pauline turned around to walk back to her home across the street. I was not aware of it at that time, but my mother was not feeling well that day.

Pauline acted on a sudden impulsive urge, at that time by gathering up enough strength and walking over to my house to visit me when she noticed I was at home. My mother observed my truck parked in front of my house that morning and she decided to visit me.

I talked to my mother later in the afternoon on the phone, while she was in her bedroom to find out if she wanted something from the store. During our brief conversation over the phone Pauline identified the items she wanted, I later gathered up my daughter, Bianca with my niece, Lauren and I drove her 1988 Chevy Nova to the neighborhood Jewel grocery store.

Pauline was an asthmatic who had difficulty at the commencement of autumn, adjusting to the change of seasons. During this time of the year, my mother would wake up gasping for air, coughing and spitting up phlegm. Pauline also weighed 236lbs on a five-foot three-inch frame. My mother recently purchased a nebulizer to help her breathe during the times her asthmatic condition would flare up.

Often Pauline would reach for the nebulizer when she sought relief, to allow her to breathe. My mother thought the nebulizer would reduce her visits to the hospital emergency room when her condition hampered her ability to breathe. Pauline’s illness began to cause her problems that required her to consult with a physician when she was approximately forty-four years old.

The first time I recalled Pauline’s breath was obviously cut short with the affliction of asthma was when we celebrated her birthday on April 27, 1975. My mother had to go to the emergency room after we celebrated her birthday at her late half-sister’s house on the far West Side of Chicago, named Sally.

Most of Pauline’s hospital emergency room visits were temporary in nature. Pauline was required to blow into an apparatus to evaluate her lung capacity and upon reaching a certain level, she was released. Pauline’s sickness with asthma caused her to seek various medical treatment alternatives, as they evolved and became available to overcome her affliction with the disease. My mother investigated over-the-counter medications initially.

When over-the-counter medications did not help Pauline’s medical condition, she used my grandmother’s prescribed medication, because she also suffered from asthma. Pauline’s main concern was to eliminate the intermittent visits to the local hospital emergency room when her condition flared up. After my mother’s visits to the emergency room, she would get a bill from the hospital and a collection agency would demand payment, because her health insurance did not cover the full cost of her medical treatment in the emergency room.

Friday, October 27, 2000, was unlike any other time that I could recall previously. I was attempting to be optimistic, based on the many times Pauline went to the hospital before and was subsequently released. This time was vastly different because my mother was transported by a Chicago Fire Department ambulance to the former Cook County Hospital emergency room.

My mother was unconscious and nonresponsive to the treatment that was being administered to her by the paramedics. I was required to come to the hospital emergency room because my mother was incapacitated. Pauline was incapable of making legal and medical decisions on her own volition. I received a summons to be at the former Cook County Hospital with my other siblings to make legal and personal decisions on our mother’s behalf.

Prior to departing on the way to the hospital, I called my youngest sister, Rosamond by telephone to relieve my mind that this was not an indication of what I did not want to accept. I noticed that Rosamond was curt and told me to come to the hospital in an indifferent and callous tone in her voice.

I thought Rosamond’s response was insensitive because she absolutely refused to share her feelings with me by revealing her inner thoughts about our request to come to the hospital emergency room because of our mother’s medical condition.

When I entered the emergency room waiting area at the hospital, my brother, John was already there. John summoned the ambulance, and he was present to witness the events as they occurred in reference to our mother’s medical condition at the time. I questioned John while we were waiting in the hospital emergency intake area as to what occurred and to understand how he responded to our mother. I also wanted to know what prompted John to request emergency medical assistance for our mother at that moment.

John was foggy in his recollection of the events leading up his call for emergency assistance for our mother’s medical condition at that time. John did not inform me of where he was in the house and how he responded to help our mother before he realized that he needed to call emergency 911, to summon the Chicago Fire Department ambulance to Pauline’s home. All I remember that John said, She was kicking. Pauline was kicking in response to her inability to breathe.

I came to that conclusion after we conferred with the medical student resident in the hospital emergency room. I realized that Pauline could not breathe in the air when the paramedics were attempting to administer oxygen to her. Pauline was like a fish out of water, unable to take in fresh air.

As a result of my mother’s inability to breathe at that critical moment caused her to go into shock immediately. Subsequently, my mother proceeded into cardiac arrest for an extended period, which proved to be fatal. Pauline was resuscitated by the medical personnel who attended to my mother’s emergency medical condition and her heartbeat was restored.

Soon, Rosamond arrived, and we waited to be summoned to the emergency room triage area. Pauline had five children, all with different personal interpretations on the quality of life. As a result of the emergency medical intervention in responding to Pauline’s physical condition, we were going to have to decide on the quality of life for our mother.

The issue of the quality of life based upon our subjective interpretations, set the stage for the initial confrontation among us. At that time, the point in question had a devastating impact on our relationship as a family. For my siblings, I was considered the opposition because I refused to interpret our mother’s existence based on the temporal, finite things and concepts of this sinful world that are the main source of affliction and despair.

I discussed the issue regarding my mother’s estate with her during one of our frequent heart-to-heart conversations, because of our life experiences together prior to her sudden demise. My mother and I established a covenant between us based upon our worship and reverence of The Lord God through Jesus Christ, The Author and Finisher of Faith of Everyone who believes. I responded in the manner Pauline, and I understood about life as it relates to the foundation of our Christian beliefs and faith.

When we gained access to enter the emergency triage area, Pauline was lying on the gurney, eyes taped shut and a respirator tube taped in her mouth. Rosamond leaned towards our mother and spoke into her ear, Pauline, come back…I told you not to take that flu shot and listened to Ted!

It seemed to me that Rosamond was attempting to imply I was partially responsible for our mother’s urgent medical condition, which caused her to be admitted in the hospital emergency room. I was offended by Rosamond’s accusatory statement, and I wanted lash out at her, but I did not go on the defensive in responding to attack my sister.

I did not want to appear to be quarrelsome in the hospital emergency room, like other individuals that I have witnessed act hysterically when confronted with a traumatic situation in a hospital setting involving a loved one. For me, I thought it was imperative that I maintain my composure at this critical time.

Rosamond’s stupid response was prompted by her failure to obtain the appropriate information about the medical physiological concept of the human body building up antibodies for resistance to viruses. Pauline’s baby girl refused to conduct any research to understand that a vaccine contains substances that stimulate the body’s immune system to produce antibodies against a particular infectious disease. Rosamond said it was stupid to receive the flu shot, as she explained it to me in a passing discussion at her home.

Because of Rosamond’s obtuseness because of her refusal to learn and listen to the health care professionals for the main purpose behind the use of vaccines, she idiotically assumed that Pauline listened to me. I knew that my mother and I followed the directives of the medical authorities who advised senior citizens and other individuals who suffered from asthma to get flu shots around this time of the year. In fact, my mother suggested I should get the flu shot as well.

Soon, my other sister, Pam, entered the emergency room triage area at the Cook County Hospital. By this time, Pauline was assigned to a medical student resident, Ms. Doctobe (not her real name). Ms. Doctobe was very compassionate when she began to ask us questions about our mother’s medical history. The resident physician longed to help us, but Pauline’s medical condition was way beyond her ability as a human being.

In Ms. Doctobe’s zeal to demonstrate she was there to help, she remained steadfastly in the emergency triage area beside the gurney where Pauline was located. After pulling out a small tablet from the pocket of her white lab coat, the resident physician looked at her notes on my mother and then she began to ask us some questions to provide her with health background information on Pauline.

From Ms. Doctobe’s inquiries, she was attempting to draw upon a connection between Pauline’s health background information to convey what physically happened to our mother. The resident physician asked us basic questions to include Pauline’s age and other medical inquiries based upon her experience and training at the Cook County Hospital. Then Ms. Doctobe asked us if Pauline was a diabetic, which is a disease that affects African Americans disproportionately in comparison with Caucasians in the United States.

Pam responded in an accusatory rampage. Pam rudely stated, She ain’t no diabetic! You all are trying to kill her! Pam and Rosamond responded exactly like I purposely avoided reacting when I heard their accusations. I did not think the questions were an attempt to assassinate my mother.

Medically, Pauline was brain-dead because she went without oxygen for an extended period prior to her arrival at the hospital emergency room. Pauline’s heartbeat was restored at the hospital, but it was far too late in providing oxygenated blood to her brain cells.

Ms. Doctobe attempted to explain what happened, while she was being ridiculed, interrupted, and ignored by my sisters. I listened to the explanation when the resident physician attempted to inform us in layman’s terms of what happened to our mother. Ms. Doctobe indicated Pauline’s lung had burst and she compared it to an individual blowing up a balloon. The resident physician said, When you blow air into a punctured balloon, it will not hold any air.

I took Ms. Doctobe aside and talked with her one-on-one, away from Rosamond and Pam. I attempted to console the resident physician and informed her that I appreciated her help and passionate concern.

I noticed Pam and Rosamond continued their unnecessary rampage attempting to place the blame on someone or something, not completely understanding the contributing factors that caused my mother’s unexpected and tragic death. They were both seeking approval from each other through their ignorance. I did not join in with them in their ignorant thoughts and they were aware of that fact.

Pam and Rosamond’s obnoxious behavior in the emergency room while we met with the resident physician was uncalled for from my perspective. It was already difficult enough for the resident physician to inform us that Pauline was dead; blaming her for our mother’s hopeless medical condition by lashing out at Ms. Doctobe was not going to make the situation any better as far as I was concerned.

In fact, the resident physician was the only person around the immediate area where Pauline was in the emergency room from the medical staff in the former Cook County Hospital to help us understand what physically happened to our mother. I also thought consoling Ms. Doctobe was something Pauline would have wanted me to do on her behalf because of the insolence of her daughters.

The divisions begin to emerge between us. I was engulfed in Ms. Doctobe’s explanation of our mother’s medical condition to completely understand what physically happen to Pauline. I did not desire to join in with my sibling’s accusations and suspicions. My siblings wanted me to align with them to be irrational and respond in the same matter, so they could feel comforted in their ignorance.

I was attempting to live up to my mother’s expectations at that time. It was an exceedingly difficult time for me, but I believed that she expected nothing less of me as her son. For me, Pauline was the vanguard of truth and proper reasoning. I immediately thought about what my mother attempted to pass on to me based upon her worship and faith in The Lord God through Jesus Christ. God loved the world so much that he gave His one and only Son; so that whoever believes in Him may not be lost but have eternal life.

The immeasurable pain of my mother’s death was comforted by the fact that she believed in Jesus. God placed Jesus in this world for the love of man. Jesus gave His life for us at no monetary or materialistic cost. There was no gain in it for Jesus, but it was for us who would reap the benefits of eternal life, if we believe in Him.

Just as Jesus is not dead in spirit, my mother is not dead in spirit either. Pauline not only lives with God in spirit, but also in my heart, mind, and strength. God put Pauline on this earth for a purpose and He was calling her home for a job well done by adhering to His word.

God determined that there was nothing else left for her to do. My mother left someone behind to follow in her path as a pious Christian woman with a sense of purpose as prescribed by her worship and faith. It was up to us as Pauline’s children, to continue in the path she set for us in adhering to The Lord God’s word.

At that time, I was hoping and praying that Pauline would come back and continue the work of maintaining our family, as she was our foundation, not only physically, but most importantly spiritually as well. Pauline had a peculiar way of maintaining our family and it proved to be effective during her lifetime. As children, we called upon our parents by their first names. I was embarrassed and uncomfortable about the fact that we referred to our parents by their first names.

Sometimes, I would avoid calling upon my parents by their first names when other people outside of our immediate family were around. I could not say we called upon our parents by their first names because of a lack of respect we had for our mother and father.

I can confirm beyond any doubt, that my siblings and I were raised with more than adequate moral training. I must say that my mother and father expected us to abide by the law with morals and respect. If anyone of us did something illegal my mother would not pretend that the situation did not exist or go away without talking about it to take decisive and corrective action.

Pauline was the enforcer of our family. My mother would do whatever necessary to gather any intelligence to uncover whatever we did that was not in accordance with what she expected from her children.

My dad would often relay his concerns to my mother for her to resolve. When Pauline finished gathering all the information, she would counsel and correct us through constant, consistent discipline on her terms, if she discovered that we were directly or indirectly involved in something hateful or disorderly because of evil.

I recollect one time my father was going through my pockets without my knowledge to look for money. In my father’s search for cash, he came across two reefers, as Pauline called them in my pocket. Instead of my dad confronting me with his discovery, he mentioned it to Pauline for her to manage decisively. Subsequently, my mother conducted an extended investigation to find out if what my dad had said was true based on the marijuana that he discovered in my pocket.

In Pauline’s determination to uncover the matter sorrowfully troubling her mind from my dad’s surprised inspection, my mother came looking for me late one evening at the local play lot on 13th Street in our neighborhood. My friends and I used to congregate regularly in the neighborhood play lot during the summertime. During our idle time in the community, we would gather in the playground to think of some devious idea to pass the time away without any parental guidance.

Before my mother reached the play lot, a lookout covering the Western Ave. sightline announced that Ms. Pauline was approaching the playground where we were getting high. I did not want Ms. Pauline, as some of the people in the neighborhood used to call my mother, to know why we were sitting on the benches and standing around the monkey bars in the Chicago Park District, 13th Street Play lot formed in a circle. Taking two hits and passing the marijuana, cigarette to the right, which was the known deportment between my neighborhood friends and me.

Upon receiving the alarm from the lookout, I immediately absconded from the scene of the crime with breakneck speed dodging vehicles of all types, risking my life and limbs to cross the busy intersection of 13th Street and Oakley Ave., in my efforts to quickly meet my mother far away from the scene of the crime before she could detect that we were smoking weed.

When I met my mother breathing hard and heavy in my efforts to collect myself, I paused and listened to what Pauline had to ask me. My mother said, Theodo, as she used to refer to my dad, said you had two reefers in your pocket…Tell me, boy, you ain’t on them reefers, is you?

To avoid from being severely disciplined by my mother and listen to Pauline give a lengthy, nonstop diatribe about the danger of drugs while she would be flogging me. I shamelessly denied my dad’s findings. I was scared, under the influence of the weed with a parched mouth to tell a boldface lie and said, He doesn’t know what he’s talking about! I ain’t on no reefer!

Pauline also attempted to examine me by looking at me up and down to see if she could detect any signs of an addiction to drugs of any kind from my outward appearance. Pauline completely overlooked the fact that I was dehydrated from the smoking of the pot, and I believed that she assumed that the dryness of my mouth was from my physical exertion in the playground in the summer heat after I sprinted to meet my mother in my efforts to prevent her from finding out that I was smoking refer like everybody else in our community.

After I provided my mother with my evasive response to her inquiry about the fact that I was smoking pot, we walked home together, and my mother appeared to be relieved for the moment. I prepared to go to my summer job the next day. However, that was not the end of Pauline’s investigation. My mother knew that my dad would not make up a story like that for the heck of it.

Pauline was determined to find out the truth, if I was smoking marijuana or not, like the rest of my friends in the neighborhood. I was washing her car sometime after that with another friend of mine from the neighborhood on a sweltering summer day. My mother was patrolling the neighborhood along with our dog she named, Giveme Your Paw.

Giveme Your Paw was a frequent stroller of the street, a Player Dog, in the literal context, not to be mistaken for a man. My mother named our dog Giveme Your Paw because he would always extend his paw towards us requesting something or calling attention to him.

No matter the system or contraption I devised and deployed to keep Paw in the yard, as my mother used to call him for short at times. Paw