Not Just Another Ordinary Life (eBook)

Cora T. Stanley (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
228 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3178-1017-7 (ISBN)

Infos

A book pertaining to my childhood experiences, marriage and life as a Christian.

A women taking on the ups and downs of life, while trying to maintain her faith. We follow her as she learns about herself through love and heartache; victory and trauma, including the tragic murder of her husband and the death of her mother, two of the most important people in her life. Her story reminds us all that our struggles make us stronger and that with God, nothing is impossible.

Textauszug

My Soul Mate. The Courtship.

Larry, a friend of mine, worked at the sweet potato plant in Cambridge, Maryland. He asked me to stop by if I were ever in the area. I really wanted to impress Larry, so I wore my favorite pair of hot pink pants. They were a perfect fit since I lost the weight I had gained during my pregnancy. When I entered the plant, I saw Bernard working with the clean-up crew. It had been over 5 years since his grand debut at the movie theater in Federalsburg I was delighted. I asked him for directions to the warehouse where Larry worked. After a short visit with Larry, I thanked Bernard again on my way out.

When I returned home that afternoon, while lying on the bed, the phone rang.

"A guy who says his name is Bernard is on the phone," Mae informed me.

My heart fluttered as I reached for the phone, curious to know the reason for the call and how he got my number.

Bernard said a mutual friend gave him my number and asked for a date. My baby was less than a year old, too soon for me to become involved in another relationship so I politely told him I wasn’t interested.”

Bernard's complexion was what some called light skinned. Mom said that he was "clean skinned". Back in the day, there were sayings. For instance, if you're bright, you're alright. If you are brown, stick around, but if you're Black, get in the back. Many people were very dark-skinned on my grandpa Eaddy's side of the family. Some were called blueblack. Most of them had smooth velvet skin. Another saying was: the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. Yet another was: when you are so Black, there ain't no use. I felt like I was in that category.

Bernard was very persistent and called every night. He didn’t seem to care about my complexion. After receiving calls from him at the same time nightly, I became concerned when I didn’t hear from him. The attention he gave me was something new, and I liked it. Within a few months I gave in and agreed to date him. Whenever I had problems at home, on the bus, or in school, he said things to encourage me and make me laugh.

"Cora, I remember the first time I saw you at the plant. Those pink pants really caught my eye," he admitted.

Bernard went on to say from that day on, he knew he wanted me to be his girlfriend.

*****

Mom had another disappointment; Lea gave birth to a baby girl two months behind me. For a while when we went out Mom made us take our babies with us. We took turns watching the babies in the car. Pearle Harbors and Whitley's were a couple of the popular hangout spots. In those days, Black people had to go in the back to get inside. We weren’t old enough, but they let us in, and when we met up with our friends, it was on.

Bernard was just as handsome as he was when I saw him the very first time. Back then, if a guy or girl had bowlegs, they were popular. The saying was: they knew how to make good love. Like, really rock your world. Alfred Bernard Stanley, Sr., a.k.a. Daddy Dog or Dog Man, had the looks, the legs, and all the extras. A couple of our favorite songs were: "Someday We'll Be Together" and "Turn Out the Lights".

To my holier-than-thou saints, I wasn’t always saved, and yes, I still remember some of our favorite songs. Music in that era was soft, clean, and romantic. It made you feel good all over. Not like some of this stuff, the kids are listening to today. A lot of the lyrics talk about stealing, killing, or smoking dope, or calling young ladies' "dogs" or "whores". Black women have been put down for so long. They should be praised, encouraged, loved, and appreciated.

There was a popular dance in that era called the "bump and grind”, a type of slow dance. You were so close to your partner that you could feel their heart beating and almost every muscle in their body. After our first dance, we vowed to someday be husband and wife.

From the very beginning, Bernard acted as if he were jealous. I liked the attention, and I thought acting jealous toward someone was a sign of true love. If I had known better, I would have recognized that type of behavior as a warning. Bernard did the silliest things, one day he played a trick to find out if I were unfaithful. His mother had two phones at home, and there was no caller ID in those days. Bernard would have one of his friends come over and call me. As we talked, he listened quietly on the other phone for my response as his friend made sexual advances.

After hearing me tell his friend repeatedly I had a boyfriend named Bernard Stanley, he interrupted by laughing and replied "Man, you can hang up now. I told you; she loves me."

I was caught off guard the first time, but he continued this tactic a few more times.

It seemed like forever but finally my parents allowed Bernard to visit. The summer of the following year, he worked in the field with us to prove that he wasn’t a lazy bum, as they assumed. He slept in the car often to be on time and followed us to the field. Still, it was months before they allowed the two of us to ride together alone. Mom always gave a curfew.

*****

Mae often referred to herself as the rebellious daughter. When she was told not to do something, she took the admonition as the green light to do that very thing.

Mae said Grandpa emphasized that, "If a person wanted to do something they’d never done before, go ahead, try anything once. If it works good, if it doesn’t, leave it alone." That was one of her rules for life.

Mae almost always ignored Mom's warning about our 12 o'clock curfew. We always sat so the clock was in view. The closer it got to our curfew she instructed Lea and me to go home. Before leaving.

I asked her, "What about you?"

She laughed and responded "I’m not leaving until I get ready. The fun is just getting ready to start."

*****

I had been dating Bernard for over a year and mom still hadn’t allowed me to go out with him alone. A month before my senior prom, I asked permission for Bernard to take me. Surprisingly she said, "Yes."

A week before the prom, mom took me to the bridal shop in Salisbury to buy a dress. There was an extensive selection of dresses. I chose a light blue one with a blue trim. Bernard rented a tuxedo from the same store. His tuxedo was light blue with a blue trim around the collar. My hair had grown back considerably since the fight at school. Early in the morning of the prom, Mom took me to sister Martha's to get my hair done in a beautiful upsweep style.

That night as we were about to leave Mom gave us our curfew and advised us to leave the prom earlier so we wouldn’t be late getting home. We stayed at the prom, just long enough for everyone to see our outfits. Bernard was anxious to meet with his friends at Pearle Harbors. We were in a fantasy world. I danced like Cinderella, and he was my Prince Charming.

Time passed swiftly. It was after midnight before we knew it. On the entire way home, I expressed how afraid I was to face Mom. Bernard tried to reassure me that everything would be okay, even if he had to pretend, we were late because of car problems. We could see the door open as we pulled into the driveway. It was almost 2am. Mom was terribly upset.

She gave me a lecture, and her last words were, "I will give you one last chance to follow my directions, and that’s it."

*****

As time passed, all four Wilcox girls were going out. We never bothered anyone, but if it got started, the sisters would deal.

Many girls our age didn’t like us, nor did some adult women. I didn’t have the problems my three sisters had because I was with Bernard. Someone was always accusing one of wanting their man or their man of wanting one of the sisters. For that reason, there were many fights.

"I never understood why those girls wanted to pick fights over a much-right man," Mae said.

A "much-right man" is a single man. Mae's definition---one woman had as much right to him as the next.

Nora, the youngest, a firecracker ready to explode if you got her time wrong. She carried a gun and shot out a lot of lights and windows. The other two were known for mass destruction or mortal combat. They used their hands, feet, or a slab of wood, anything within their reach. It was nothing to see one of them take on two at a time and lay them down.

The three of them continued to go out together. Bernard and I changed our course and began to hang out on Railroad Hill, the small community where he was raised.

I was nervous when I met some members of his family for the first time. To my surprise, all went well. His younger sister, Net, and I were the same age, and she had a baby girl also. Bernard had a gay brother who referred to himself as Gina He was very intelligent, a go- getter when it came to making money. He turned one of the rooms at their mom's home into a studio. When he was in town, he provided entertainment for the local kids. Some of the movies were re-runs but the kids had as much fun at Gina's place eating popcorn and candy as they would have at the theater in town.

Bernard's mom Mrs. Chile and his older sister Fannie, the religious one of the family, were the last two I met. Fannie was very involved in church. She was the leader of the choir, on the usher board and assistant to Pastor Forest. Bernard said that his dad, Mr. Harry, died in the car while waiting for his mom who was shopping for school supplies when he was eight years old. Mr. Harry became upset and when...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 27.8.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3178-1017-7 / 9798317810177