#539 The Store- Edward P. Jones
Al was a normal twenty year old. He had a job after
graduating high school (he called it a slave) but that only lasted till now. He
was living with his mother and in no hurry to get another “slave” anytime soon.
But his brother made him feel guilty about being a drain, and his mother, as
only mothers can do encouraged him to apply for a job as a corner store clerk.
“Each Monday morning, like a whipped dog that stayed because
he didn’t know any other master but the one that whipped him, I was at the
store’s front door, waiting for her to open up.”
He never did quit, and before long he got his own apron, got
small raises and eventually got part ownership. He was responsible and a staple
in the community, but as things are, that wasn’t enough. His relationship
didn’t work out and the store was closing down. Thankfully sometimes hard work
pays off, and its time to take the next step.
Jones does a great job at writing literature that sounds
like a chronicling of real life. This could be a real oral history of a real
corner store in D.C. It doesn’t bowl you over with excitement, or hit you with
strong emotion, but it remains as something very real.
No comments:
Post a Comment