Red Hook Summer Page #2

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Well, let's pray he works for Exxon,

'cause we owe six grand

on the heating bill from last winter.

The church van is broke again.

The roof is about to go.

And the plumbing down here would

give the Roto-Rooter man the mumps.

Well, l'm the Bishop man with a plan.

Man plans, and God laughs.

You know, because He's a jokester.

Look, l brought you some help.

This is my grandson, Silas here.

Calls himself Flik.

You know how kids are these days.

Didn't know you had a grandson, Doc!

You look like a real numbers man there, Flik.

You got your little tablet-thing

and everything.

iPad 2!

Oh!

iPad 2.

Let me tell you,

that thing is nothing but trouble.

Now, look, we got to get rolling.

-Spruce this place up.

-Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

And take your foot off the gas

with the grape.

Would you, please? Thank you, Jesus.

Bishop, just a taste of stabilizer.

Red.

Jesus juice.

The blood... The blood of Jesus.

l'm hot!

You think this is hot, you ought to try hell.

l'm a heating plant technician.

What's that?

lt's a fancy name for a boiler man.

l fire up all the boilers

in these here projects.

Ten hours a day, five days a week,

winter or summer.

The heat don't bother me. Uh-uh.

l got the Lord's fire burning in my belly.

Now that's a smooth, good heat.

Mmm.

Heavenly Father, we thank you

for the food we are about to receive,

for the nourishment of our souls

and our bodies.

Thank you, God, for Jesus,

His holy light, His holy name.

Thank you, God,

for bringing my grandson to me

for the very first time.

Touch him.

Make him whole.

Put your word to him,

lead him to you, your kingdom, your power.

Keep him clean in faith.

ln Jesus' name, we pray.

Amen.

l said, "Amen."

Yeah, amen already.

Go on, get that down your little red lane.

l told you, this isn't my food.

My mother brought me my food.

You're working today over at Lil' Heaven.

With Deacon Zee.

lf you need me, he knows where to find me.

l didn't come all the way up North to work,

it's my summer vacation!

Your summer vacation has work in it.

Ohh!

What you doing?

Mind your business.

l'm telling!

Tell-tell, you smell.

My grandpa's the Bishop.

-So?

-So what?

Chicken butt! My mom's Sister Shirley.

-She's a trustee.

-What's that?

l don't know,

but it's high up in the food chain.

She buys all the snacks for Sunday school,

knows where every red cent is spent.

She'll know that stuff's missing!

l can replace it.

My mother hooked me up.

Wow! That's a lot of dollar eagles!

l'm Chazz Morningstar.

Where you from? You talk white!

l don't talk white,

l just go to private school in Atlanta. ATL.

l'm Flik Royale.

(ZEE GROWLlNG)

Come out of there!

Little hoodlums!

l told them niggas to buy GMC!

Now look at it!

Thirty goddamned dollars a share,

and it was selling for 75 cents

before Barack Hussein Obama

bailed them out.

Where's my bail-out?

You ain't got no future!

They done spent it all on Wall Street.

What y'all looking at?

You got a can tied to your tail, too?

Shake a leg. Shake a leg.

Get me that mop by that bucket right there.

SlLAS:
Hey, Chazz,

l've got to show you something.

What?

-This!

-(SCREAMlNG)

Take that church rat out, boy!

When l say buy, buy!

When l say sell, sell!

l told them niggas!

No! You nasty!

You better not bring that thing up in here!

Stupid!

lt's all right, l'm throwing it out now.

(SCREAMlNG)

(LAUGHlNG) Oh!

Mmm.

Slow your roll.

You a strange boy.

Hiding your face behind that box.

Why take pictures of a dead church rat?

Sometimes l like

to take pictures of dead things.

Then you in the right place.

Because everything about this place

is dead.

And that's the truth, Ruth!

And, boy, take that dead,

funky church rat out of here, God damn it,

like l told you the first time! Oh!

(DOOR CLOSlNG)

ENOCH ON PA:
God is good!

You see, life is a snare,

but come inside

the sanctified walls of God...

Get the man with the hat on.

Come inside the sanctified walls of God,

you shine your light on the outside.

Mr. Mookie, come to Old Timers Day.

-Hell to the no!

-lt figures!

ENOCH:
Get the lady with the shopping cart.

Ma'am, will you come to Old Timers Day?

No. No, thank you.

-You sure?

-No.

Old Timers Day, in four days.

ENOCH:
... 'cause you see,

for on the third day...

Old Timers Day is four days?

l thought it was just one day.

No, it's in four weeks. lt is just one day.

-Yeah, but the kid said four days.

-But the kid has got it wrong.

Old Timers Day was two days,

three years ago.

That was three years ago.

You know,

you're messing up my groove now.

Come here, come here, son, come on.

Mr. Curtis, it was two days...

Take these, and go down

to the other end of the mall.

All right, go ahead.

l don't know what he's talking about,

four days.

ENOCH:
All you have to do, Brother Curtis,

is just look at it.

Old Timers Day.

(ENOCH TALKlNG ON PA lN DlSTANCE)

-Old Timers Day.

-Thank you.

You're welcome.

ENOCH:
...ifyou have faith,

if you just have faith,

and believe in Jesus,

then Jesus will carry you on through.

l'm telling you, children,

Jesus will carry you through.

Old Timers Day.

Anybody?

No?

Ooh!

l'm telling!

Bishop Enoch's gonna burn your little butt!

Come on, l was just playing yesterday.

No! You dead rat meat, boy!

Oh, snap!

My mom was on fire about this thing.

l was looking for it all day.

lt cost big bucks.

More than that?

l don't know. This was my sister's.

-What's her name?

-Angel Morningstar. She's dead now.

Oh. Sorry to hear about that.

l'm still telling on your butt!

Stop sucking your thumb about it!

l just gave you the stupid thing.

-Apologize!

-No.

l'm telling!

All right, all right.

l'm sorry l chased you out the church

with that dead, stinking, smelly rat.

Once more, with feeling, please.

l'm sorry l chased you out the church

with that dead, stinking, smelly, horrible,

funky, Red Hook, Brooklyn rat, okay?

No!

-Not that way!

-What's wrong?

lt's not safe!

That's Blood territory over there.

What's that?

Not a what, a who. They're a gang!

And you don't want to meet them.

Let's go through Paradise.

Yes, but if you come to God,

you come to Jesus,

and take Jesus into your life,

He will show you who you are.

(COLOR OF THE WIND PLAYlNG)

(CHATTERlNG lNAUDlBLY)

l love wet cement!

l dare you!

Hey!

Are you two out of your minds?

Come on, let's see what you got.

Come here!

Do not come back here!

Go back to your home! And stay there!

(lNHALER PUFFlNG)

Why you playing?

-My hair's all messed up.

-Hey, boy!

Turn that goddamn thing off!

You can't be railing and rooting

round here crazy with this girl.

See, you've done made her sick!

You know Chazz got that goddamn asthma.

SlLAS:
l didn't make her sick!

Deacon Zee, l'm okay.

Boy, did you just fall off the turnip truck?

No.

There's 31 of these project buildings,

and an EMS brother told me on the low-low

that 1 1 children died of asthma

in the last two years.

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