Page 59 - The Jazzsipper Novel

58

THE JAZZ SIPPER

covered his bet that he didn’t care what Uncle Frank wanted to talk about, no
problem Uncle Frank, Vance said.

After they left the track Uncle Frank, and Vance had stopped at one of New
Orleans many Po Boy sandwich shops to pick up a couple of Po- Boys. Uncle
Frank was a big Po- Boy sandwich lover especially on Saturdays, which was
the only day Aunt Jessie did not cook. Aunt Jessie would say it was each man
for himself on Saturdays. They set in Uncle Frank’s car and ate their
sandwiches and dranked their Barq’s cold soft drinks, followed by Hubig
lemon pies.

Uncle Frank told Vance he wanted to talk to him about his plans after high
school. Vance had been thinking about his plans himself lately. Vance said
that he had been talking to Mr. Ramous about the Navy and they were going
down to the Navy shipyard next Sunday. Mr. Ramous was going to get
someone to give them a tour of a ship. Uncle Frank’s expression was that of
a proud father. Like that of a father whose son had just made the winning jump
shot in the game with time running out. Uncle Frank told Vance that he knew
he had done what he had too in order to survive in the streets those last couple
of years. And he had been blessed even though he had been shot in the
summer, because he still survived fully intact. And that earlier, he and his Aunt
Jessie had been reading an article in the newspaper about the crime and the
murder rate in New Orleans. And how a generation of young black men was
being lost to drugs, violence and murder at each other’s hand. Uncle Frank
told Vance that going in the service offered a lot of opportunities. And to go in
that direction would make Lizzie, his mother and his Aunt Jessie very proud.
Vance smiled and told Uncle Frank he was going to make him proud as well.