Black Men | White Shirts #1

BLACK MEN/WHITE SHIRTS #1: GRIEVING 

The day was uncomfortably hot. No, just uncomfortable. An older gentlemen, needing a break from the moment, walked quietly away from the white clapboard church and made his way down to the bank of the PeeDee River. He sat in memory. A smile crossing his face.

Soon, a younger man came and sat next to him. The heat grew but the uncomfortableness of the day began to lessen. 

Laughing, the younger man snatched off his shoes, took off his socks and plunged his feet in the water. It was cold. It was wonderful. He laughed again and turned to the older gentleman. 

After a few moments the older gentleman untied his shoes slowly, took them off carefully, placed them on a dry part of the bank, folded his socks just so and placed them inside each shoe. These shoes were only worn for funerals and visits with heads of state. But since he had never met a head of state, they’d just been worn for funerals. No. Really, this was the first funeral. And these new shoes pinched. He slowly dipped his toes, feeling immediate relief of both his pinched toes and his pinched heart. 

Both men sat quietly for a time together remembering the reason. The woman in the church. The woman in the box in the church. Grandmother to one, lover to the other. They sat.