usadeepsouth.com
~~Pace, Mississippi~~
by Walter Redden, Jr.
I left the retirement center in Jackson and arrived at home just in time to kiss my wife, kick off my shoes, and take a comfortable chair. The paper was in my lap and my favorite glass of wine was in hand. Relaxed and about half asleep, I heard the telephone ring. I picked up the phone on the third buzz and said, “Hello.”
The incoming call was from Chicago. On the line was a childhood friend.
“Walter, this is Charlie Mae Foster. I know you have not heard my voice in years, but how are you?”
I replied that Annette and I were well. The conversation drifted off to years ago on the farm and to most unpleasant days picking cotton together. We both agreed it was sweaty work.
Charlie Mae, who now lives in Chicago, grew up on the Redden cotton farm. Her parents were also landowners in the Mississippi Delta
After Charlie Mae and I made small talk, she got to the point and the purpose of her phone call. Her father had died suddenly and she was calling to ask if I could come to the funeral and be a spokesman for the Foster family.
I said, “Charlie Mae, it will be my pleasure to be your guest and represent your family as a speaker.”
I arrived about thirty minutes before the appointed hour for the funeral. The small, one-room A.M.E. church was empty. There were no ceiling fans. The mourners brought their own paper hand-held fans.
The casket and the minister were first to enter the church. Then the Foster family followed the flower draped casket. Annette and I were ushered into a front pew seat. After the family was seated, the Mistress of the funeral signaled for friends to enter the church.
At the conclusion of the minister’s opening statements, the Mistress called on me for a few remarks. I gave a slight smile and was silent for a moment. I said kind things about the Foster family and especially the father, James Foster, who was being eulogized. I ended my thoughts by saying, “I was born in Pace before there was a hospital. You know where I was born and reared. So I am a part of you and you are a part of me.” I concluded with a prayer for the family.
“Our Father, as we put on the armor of God, we thank you for salvation. We furthermore thank you for your great promise--the promise of the Holy Spirit and your Word. Now may we take your Word seriously. Add it to our lives so that the things we do, say, and think will always be acceptable in your sight. In Jesus’ name, I pray.”
After the church service, Annette and I mingled in the crowd. A tall lady in a white dress came up to me and said, “I knew you before you were born.” This was an affectionate way of saying, I knew your parents long before you were born.
Seeing the Foster family was an enriching experience for me. Yes, you can go back home.
Walter Redden, Jr., born in the Mississippi Delta, is a graduate of The University of Mississippi. He served as a linguist in the U. S. Air Force (Japan and Korea, 1951-1952), and taught English at Cleveland (Miss.) High School. He then worked as a representative/consultant for Educational Textbook Publisher (Scott Foresman & Co.) for 33 years, retiring in 1990. He and his wife Annette have a son and daughter-in-law, and one super bright granddaughter. Walter is a volunteer reader for Radio Reading Service for the Blind and is choir director at four retirement centers. He also volunteers as a clerk at the gift shop at the Methodist Rehab Hospital in Jackson, Mississippi.
Alas, the man has no e-mail savvy or access, but you may reach him through Ye Editor, one of his brightest (?) 7th grade English students at Cleveland High in 1956-1957. [ bethjacks@hotmail.com ]
Please visit our Message Board
or write Ye Editor at bethjacks@hotmail.com.
Thanks!
Back to USADEEPSOUTH index page