Jelly Roll: A Black Neighborhood in a Southern Mill Town

16. Rapping with the "Boys" on the Street

CHAPTER 16 Rapping with the "Boys"onthe Street The following dialogue came about when I had invited five local, unemployed young men (all in their mid-twenties), into my motor home which was parked opposite Clara's Sandwich Shop in Jelly Roll. Four of the five were already known to me as former employees at the mill. One had been fired when caught stealing from the company, another terminated after frequent absenteeism, and two others had quit or been discharged several times before because of drinking problems. I had had previous conversations with all of these men, sometimes casually on the street, on two occasions related to their rehabilitation for jobs, and at other times I had visited them at home. Three of the five were second generation employees at the mill. These background remarks are intended to alert the reader to the fact that the free-wheeling, intimate dialogue which follows did not evolve among strangers. But of greater importance, all of these young men exemplify the strong voice of a dissenting counter culture towards the traditional values of the community. Theirs' is a minority report, forceful and significant, a life style and code of conduct sharply in contrast with the majority oftheir age peers who have married, formed households and hold regular jobs, successfully integrating themselves into the more traditional community. 127 Taking a break 128 Yeah, I guess you'd call us street people. That's our handle. These people around here gotta strong mind to blame you for everything that goes on. Watch out! We've got a bad reputation. People think we're rough. [laughter] If you think we're rough, you ought to meet up with some of these really young punks. Raised believin' nothin', never been punished, parents just keep feeding them while they're hollerin', 'I'm not gonna do this or that.' None of 'em keep a job; walk off first time they don't like something. They're bold. They're violent. Quick to do any damn fool thing. Not scared to cut on you. Every generation is growing up faster than before. That's the way of the world. Well, how rough they gonna get? Sounds like you're scared. Not me. Young people need a place to go, release pressure because the tracks is getting faster and faster. They're all smokin' dope and screwin' when they're twelve or thirteen, for Christ's sake! Calion's one of the few places where you can walk down the middle of the street with a beer and a joint and nobody will mess with you. This street's an easy home, but it gets tiresome. I'd rather have a job I liked. We've worked this street over. I can you today. You con me tomorrow. We've done everybody at one time or another. El Dorado is somethingelse. You can always make a hustle, find a whore or a game there. If we're lucky around here we can get high, stay high all day. It's so dull. Lotsa times I go home at night, eat and go to bed by eight o'clock. Well, why don't you get married? Then you can really be bored. [laughter] How do you get married to a married woman? They're the ones I go for. But if they don't have a good job, I don't want them. She gives you a little somethin' and I give her a good screwin' and she appreciates it. I wouldn't mind getting hitched if I found the right woman and made up my mind to it. She'd have to have a good job and I'd getone too. Splitfifty-fifty. You can't make it now unless both of you are working. In Calion you need to own your own crib. You need a 129 car to go to town, and you need money. Then you can do like you want with a girl on each arm. You mean this broad today, that one tomorrow. Let's face it, we're just sittin' here livin' for today, waitin' on the next drink, workin' on the next hustle. Admit it, nobody is thinkin' about tomorrow. Tomorrow we get high again if we're lucky. I hate the weekends if I got no money. Doesn't matter much during the week. You mean when she says, 'Oh...