CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Summary

It is the day of Terence's sentencing. It is being held in Skokie, because the county courts are so overburdened. A young man, a courtroom spectator, overhears the state's attorney and a fellow prosecutor say in a stage whisper loud enough for those around them to hear that they're going to stomp Terence and Tony Oliver into the ground. The young man just shakes his head in disbelief at the attitude of people dealing with other people's lives. Audrey discusses a plea with the prosecutor who wants the two boys to serve ten years each. She finally gets him to come down to eight, which would mean that with good behavior, Terence will probably serve three to five. Terence has asked LaJoe not to come, because he doesn't want his family to see how he's let them down. This time, his case is continued and he is given a new court date.

When he gets to see his family for a few moments, they are all amazed at how working out has built his muscles. However, even though he looks good, he feels terrible, because he doesn't think he can last through eight years. The judge gives him a two-week continuance so he can talk it over with his mother.

However, LaJoe never hears from Terence that day, and she thinks he has been sentenced to the full ten years. She's not surprised when she spins out of control. She has been stalked lately by a man named Keith, who, because she has spurned him, is now threatening to hurt her. This day, he threatens her again, and she can no longer keep his threats a secret and reveals them to Rochelle. Weasel, her son, goes after the man, beats him bloody, and brings him to LaJoe to identify. When she says he is the man, Weasel beats him some more and then lets him go. That experience, added to her fears for Terence, makes LaJoe lose control. She begins to scream that she isn't going to put up with this, that she doesn't need another man to ruin her life, and that she has to get out of this ghetto, because people here are crazy. Eventually, she calms down and apologizes to her family and friends. LaJoe has been privately entertaining ideas of leaving, but she has no money for rent outside of public housing, so she must endure the craziness of Horner. However, she is wilting in this atmosphere, so she looks for respite outside the family and the apartment. She continues her all night card games and is often not there in the mornings when the children wake up. They feel her absence deeply.

On Tuesday, April 4, Terence is sentenced to eight years, and Richard J. Daley is elected mayor. They seem to have absolutely nothing to do with each other, but in LaJoe's mind, they do. Perhaps if the politicians cared more about her neighborhood's lost children, Terence might have been saved. Their silence upsets her greatly. She can't stop thinking about her son and what prison will do to him. He will lose his softness, his gentleness. With his loss, she holds on more tightly to Pharoah and Lafeyette and measures them against Terence. She rationalizes that their characters are different from her older son's and so they won't fall into the same hole he has. She is terribly grief-stricken and has only Rochelle for comfort. She will no longer burden Lafeyette, because he has enough of his own grief. She says that her insides are in threads and that her heart is broken over Terence. She doesn't know how much more she can take.

Notes

This chapter is a presentation of a mother's grief. LaJoe is an excellent mother who loves her children deeply. That's why when one of them goes wrong, she almost lose her strength to go on. It is a revelation about the heavy responsibility the mothers of the projects carry. Most of the time, they are alone in raising their children and often take in grandchildren as well. They have to find a way to partition their money to feed and clothe the ones they've brought into the world. Their job skills are usually non-existent, which means that they are stuck in a decaying neighborhood like Horner. As a result, they end up grieving for the losses their children endure.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Summary

In this chapter, the CHA discovers the mess in the basements of Horner. Gwen Anderson, the newly appointed housing manager, ventures down below and promptly vomits at what she sees and smells. It is a nightmare. For fifteen years, people have been using the basements as a garbage dump: rotting dog and cat carcasses, pools of stagnant water, brand new stoves and cabinets, now rusting away, and soiled clothing and other garbage. The fact that there are brand new stoves there, when she has no oven, infuriates LaJoe, and she likens the decay in the basements to her crumbling neighborhood. There is no longer the Miles Square Health Center, Hull House is discontinuing its first aid team, Illinois has cut back its Medicaid payments, Little Joe's Market has closed, and the Boy's Club's brand new swimming pool is already having problems. Everywhere are crumbling buildings and crumbling spirits.

Pharoah and Porkchop run over to Dawn's apartment to visit. Pharoah is confused, because Dawn is their one success story and she is still living at Horner. He doesn't understand why she hasn't left, but like the rest of neighborhood, she is crumbling. Nothing materialized from any job she sought, she and Demetrius are still living together, but can't afford to get married, and she remains on public assistance. They are both excellent parents, but the future seems bleak. Dawn is often depressed and sometimes doesn't even open the door when friends or family come to visit. Nonetheless, Pharaoh calls out as he leaves her apartment, Have a nice day!

Notes

Once again, the chapter is an exercise in irony. The mess found in the Horner basements, the decay that continues in the neighborhood, and Dawn's inability to live up to the success that is expected of her contrast vividly with Pharoah's innocent comment, Have a nice day!