The Long Walk Home Page #2

- Shut up.

I'm tired of hangin' my head

in the shadow of crackers.

I wanna ride at the

front of the bus.

Lord, we thank you for this

food we're about to receive.

Watch over our

souls tonight...

and help us live your

word tomorrow.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Right around the fence.

That bus is as empty

as my grave.

It starts to rain,

people get on that bus.

No, they won't,

not unless they stupid as you are.

Mama! If we can't ride the bus,

then do we have to go to school?

Boy, you ain't never

took the bus in your life.

Now get in there and help

me clean off that table.

Hello, Mrs. Thompson?

This is Odessa.

Mrs. Thompson, I think I'm gonna

be awfully late to work today.

Odessa, this is Monday. You know

how badly I need you on Monday.

Yes, I know, Mrs. Thompson,

but, as I said, I...

Well, this wouldn't have anything to do

with the boycott business, would it?

Well, Mrs. Thompson, the buses usually

come past my house pretty near full,

but today there ain't a soul

on 'em except the driver,

and this last one had

a police car following it,

- so, ma'am, I ain't likely to

ride the bus today. - Hmm.

Well, I was goin' to Curb Market

this mornin' anyway.

- You live down on Cobb Street,

don't you? - Yes, ma'am.

Well, then I'll meet

you on the corner of

Court and Mildred

in about an hour.

- Thank you, ma'am.

- Okay. Bye-bye.

Odessa, I'm not gonna be

able to carry you home.

Mama needs help with Shelly's dinner,

so I'm gonna have to go over later.

Yes, ma'am. Go and show your

mama how you're helpin'.

Oh.

That's sweet.

Good evening, ma'am.

Whose turn is it

to do the dishes?

- Theodore's.

- No, it ain't mine.

- Well, who did 'em last night? - I did 'em.

It's Theodore and Franklin's turn.

You got a choice: clean the

dishes or clean the outhouse.

- Mama's home!

- Good. She can do the dishes.

After you called, we waited

for you to come home, Mama.

- We just ate while we waited.

- He's been waiting all night to say that.

- Can I fetch you some supper? - Theodore

and Franklin keep makin' fun of my cookin',

and Daddy won't

get them to stop.

Still comin' to that mass meetin'?

It's in 15 minutes.

- Selma, get your coat.

- What?

Listen to a bunch of preachers talkin' 'bout

us plain folks wearin' out our shoes today

while they drove around

in their cars?

No, thank you. I put in my time at church

on Sunday morning, not Monday night.

- Can I go, and Selma watch Franklin?

- I wanna go too!

"I wanna go too!"

Theodore gets to

have all the fun.

- I think she cut up the cleanest

parts and fried it. - Shut up, fool.

Mom, I'm sorry about supper.

I think it got worse as it got cold.

Just let me get my shoes off.

I'll be ready in a minute.

Mmm. I got to give that girl

some cookin' lessons.

- Mama, your feet. - I just got to get

me some shoes that fit, that's all.

I'll get up and change my dress.

I'll be ready in a minute.

Don't wanna be late.

Might not get a seat.

You quit that horsin' around

in my... Get off my bed!

- Get in there.

- Daddy?

You can't let her walk

down to the church.

Don't worry about it.

It'll make her feel better to go.

It really will.

The only weapon that we have in our

hands this evening is the weapon of protest.

And we are not wrong.

We are not wrong

in what we are doing.

If we are wrong, the supreme

court of this nation is wrong.

If we are wrong,

the Constitution of

the United States is wrong.

If we are wrong,

God Almighty is wrong.

And we are determined here in

Montgomery, to work and fight,

until justice runs

down like water,

and righteousness

like a mighty stream.

Well, now, ain't you all

full of the day?

I haven't felt this good

in a long time.

Course, when I got up

this morning, I like to die.

Once I started movin' around,

I felt pretty good.

- You walked all of that way

across town? - Yes, ma'am.

- Ooh, that's a long walk, woman.

- Yes, indeedy.

You know, you come into town

and go to one of the mass meetings.

You feel like you could

walk forever too.

Mmm, I gots me a ride to work,

and I sleep through it most of the time.

I don't need no inspiration.

Odessa.

Now, I hear that gettin' up early,

movin' around,

does a soul good

in the mornin'.

I just wonder what it does

for 'em in the afternoon.

Pass me not,

O gentle savior

Hear my humble cry

While on others

thou art calling

Do not pass me by

O savior, savior

Hear my humble cry

While on others

thou art calling

Do not pass me by

Savior, savior

- Hear my humble cry

- Hear my humble cry

While on others

thou art calling

Do not pass me by

I think I'm gonna have to ask

Mrs. Thompson for some days off.

You be careful.

Lot of folks losin' their jobs.

Christmas next week.

Yeah.

Mrs. Thompson ain't as bad as some.

She called that policeman out for me.

I ain't never seen a white woman

do nothin' like that before.

Odessa, don't you go foolin'

yourself 'bout that white woman.

She don't know us,

and she don't want to know us.

She may have a heart of gold, but she

the one that sent you to that park,

and you ain't have

no say in it.

That policeman was

apologizing to her, not you.

Well, still and all,

I cannot keep comin' home too tired to do

the cookin' and too late to do the cleanin'.

- You can always take the bus.

- What?

What did you say?

I guess it's like

the preachers say,

"There's an easy answer

for everything. "

Nobody said it

was gonna be easy.

Mary Catherine, will you stop messing with

that silverware and sit down in that seat.

I'm just playing.

I'm sorry I yelled at you.

Odessa's got a lot of work to do.

Odessa, I'm going to Junior League,

so you'll have Mary Catherine.

- Yes, ma'am.

- Is that all the silver you've done?

I've been feeling

a little poorly today.

Well, you've been feeling poorly all week,

and next week is Christmas.

Yes, ma'am.

Now, I know you can't ride the bus,

and I'm not a taxi service,

but I can't have you come in here in the

mornin' and draggin' around all day, Odessa.

Not this close to Christmas.

I go to Curb Market early

on Tuesdays and Fridays,

so I can pick you up between 7:30

and 8:
00 on those mornings.

Until you can start

riding the bus.

The other days, you're gonna

have to get here on your own.

Mary Catherine?

Mary Catherine!

I don't want you to go tellin' Daddy

I've been carrying Odessa to work.

Now, I've got a good

reason for this, okay?

- Yes, ma'am.

- No slips.

Santa might

get unhappy.

Understood?

Okay.

Bye-bye.

Of course, what I cared about that

Christmas were the little things...

the presents I'd asked for and the way I

thought my older sister owned the world.

Mommy, Mommy!

- They're here! They're here!

- Oh!

- Hi, honey!

- Hi, Mom.

Father says you never

wrote a Christmas list.

- I did mine a month ago.

- Jeepers, Boo-Boo.

- I'm not Boo-Boo.

- Yes, you are, Boo-Boo.

Let me get these bags

to Sara's room,

and then I want to take

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