~~ Chapter Four
The Memphis city limits could not have come soon enough for Allison. All she needed to do now was to cross the Mississippi River into Memphis and travel south on the same interstate route for a few miles before heading east for several more miles to LeMoyne-Owen College, Ernest’s alma mater. From there, Ernest’s home was only four blocks away. She remembered the directions from earlier visits to Memphis. Her watch read 2 p.m. She hoped to convince her old friend to get up from his big chair in front of the television where he undoubtedly sat watching every basketball game that came on the screen and take a little ride with her back into the past. If the University of Memphis basketball team was playing, she wouldn’t be able to move him with the threat of a bomb. The man is nuts about college basketball which may account for part of the reason he chooses to look something like a basketball, she reasoned with a laugh.
Driving through the old inner-city neighborhood where Ernest resided and practiced medicine for most of his life, Allison was reminded of one of the reasons she admired the man so much. He’d stayed where he felt his skills provided the greatest good for his community. He could have bailed out and taken the medical degree he earned after returning home in 1969 and headed for the suburbs, but he didn’t. He stayed and made a difference.
Presently, Ernest practiced part-time at the clinic he founded thirty years ago, located five blocks from his residence. Most of his patients these days, he told Allison, were people of different races in the community without the necessary funds or insurance to secure medical treatment elsewhere. For these patients, he provided pro bono services. His résumé was quite impressive for an individual who at one point in his young life became so disillusioned with the inequities within our system of government that he left his community intent upon securing change by whatever means necessary, including violent acts against his fellowman.
Finding the well maintained, seventy-five year old, two and a half story, wood-sided home of Ernest and Rosa Lee Calhoun proved easy for Allison. She could see the flagpole from a block away. Ernest’s loyalties, represented by Old Glory flying above the University of Memphis Tiger’s banner, waved proudly for passersby to see. No sooner did she bring the VW bus to a halt then Ernest burst through the front door with a huge smile on his face.
“I didn’t really believe you would do it! You drove our old escape pod all the way down here,” shouted Ernest as he launched his hefty frame off the porch that covered the front of the house. His agility surprised Allison as he hurriedly closed the distance between them. He embraced her in a bear hug. “It’s so wonderful to see you again,” he said as he continued his hardy embrace. “What’s it been, five years since we visited the last time? Much too long, much too long, come in, come in.”
By the time they reached the front door, Rosa Lee Calhoun appeared in the open doorway ready to duplicate Ernest’s welcoming ritual, and fortunately for Allison’s rib cage, with less physical vigor. “So nice to see you, my dear. Please come inside away from the lunatic that attacked you just now,” said Rosa Lee displaying a grimace towards her excited husband.
Allison had predicted correctly when she pictured Ernest sitting before a television watching basketball. As she entered the house, the sound of screaming fans came from the family room. “I hope I’m not interrupting your game,” said Allison to Ernest as they entered the foyer.
“You come on in and hush up about interrupting something,” barked Rosa Lee before her husband could respond. “That old fool plays that infernal contraption day and night. He doesn’t even know who’s playing as he watches all the games. Come in here and sit right down and let me get you something to drink. I’ll be right back. Ernest, now you turn that noise off, you hear me!”
Standing in the entryway to the family room after Rosa Lee’s departure, Allison got her first good look at Ernest’s huge bulk. He noticed her staring at his waistline. “Now don’t you go saying anything about my you know what. That woman’s about to drive me crazy,” said Ernest hurriedly in mock indignation.
Allison was surprised at being busted so easily. “I’m sorry. I’m so rude, but I can’t help but recall how small you used to be. I promise I won’t start any trouble while I’m here. Your secret’s safe with me.” This last statement was offered with a conspiratorial smile.
“Good. Now you come right on in here and sit down while I turn the volume down. There! Now tell me how long you’re going to be here? You mentioned we needed to talk. Is anything wrong? Can I help?” Ernest halted his inquisition to allow his friend to get a word in.
Before Allison could respond, Rosa Lee came into the family room carrying a tray with hot tea and her delicious sugar biscuits with peaches. Allison couldn’t help but notice Ernest’s eyes light up as he caught sight of the feast coming their way. Her planned discussion must wait awhile longer which really didn’t bother her as she could taste Rosa Lee’s biscuits already.
Watching her long-time friend enjoy this afternoon repast helped reaffirm Allison’s faith in the value of life’s simple pleasures. She could not help but contrast the two very different individuals: the angry, potentially violent Mustafa of long ago and the affable community caregiver of today. What an amazing and wonderful metamorphosis.
“Okay, I’m ready to listen,” blurted Ernest as he set his empty plate and cup aside. “I think I know you fairly well after thirty-four years, and I know you didn’t come all this way just to admire my fat belly, so tell me what’s going on. How can we help?”
Allison, caught off guard, didn’t know how to respond at first. She knew both Ernest and Rosa Lee would be involved in any decision regarding Ernest’s activities.
“Ernest,” said Allison ever so slowly, “you are going to think I’m crazy when I tell you what I’m going to do but -”
“You’re going back, aren’t you?” His response surprised Allison. Her look of complete amazement made him smile.
“I’m right, you are going back. You don’t have to tell me because I always knew someday you would. I have to tell you though, I don’t understand why. They tried to kill you! They almost did! You were very lucky; we were lucky. There’s nothing that can be done about that now. They didn’t care then, and they won’t care now. So what’s the purpose?”
“There’s more to it than that. There are crazy people trying to drag this country into another war. I can’t sit around and do nothing. I’ve got to get involved, and San Francisco is the place I need to be to do that,” countered Allison.
“There’s more to it than that, Allison,” said Ernest sternly. “That may be a valid reason, but it’s not the only reason, is it?”
Allison attempted to arrange her thoughts to put forth a more persuasive argument for both her and him going forward with her proposed venture. She asked herself the same question again. Why must you go back to the one place in the world that caused you so much hurt? Why? For the first time the truth came forth from somewhere deep within her. She offered it to her two friends in the same simple way in which she received it. “I was hurt so bad that I left a part of my soul in that filthy ditch, and I need to go back and get it and bring it home with me. That’s why.”
Allison knew then that she had nothing else to say about the matter. She had to go back to find a part of her she lost many years in the past. Although she would be comforted by having the company and the support of three special people, go she must, regardless. Their lives had moved on, so why should they want to be part of her crusade to save a country on the verge of making another catastrophic mistake? They had spent their time in the trenches already, so let a younger generation take up this fight. It was their future at stake. She was apparently the only one of the four who felt they had left something personal back there, so it made sense that she alone would end up returning to the scene of the crime. So be it.
It occurred to Allison she was imposing on these two wonderful people and their purposeful life. She had been wrong to come here and bother them wi
th her problem. “Ernest and Rosa Lee, I want to apologize for barging in on you with this crazy idea. I had no right to do this. I’m very sorry. I am going to get up right now and leave you two wonderful people alone so you can go on enjoying your lives in peace. So -”
Rosa Lee cut her off before she could finish. “What about the Dandelions? You can’t go back without the Dandelions, can you?”
Allison recoiled in shock. “Ernest told you about that? You remembered that, Ernest?”
“Of course, I remembered it. I’m a doctor, and it’s my job to remember things,” answered Ernest with a puzzled look.
“Well, I best get the Memphis Dandelion some clothes packed so you two can get on the road,” said Rosa Lee in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
“What? Hold on now, woman. I haven’t said anything about going to California, have I? We’ve got to talk about this some more. There will be repercussions if I just up and take off without any notice.” Ernest appeared indignant at her suggestion that he could leave without any forewarning.
Rosa Lee laughed, “The only repercussions will come from that poor Lazyboy over there when it finds out it’s going to get a rest from your big butt for awhile. Look at that poor chair, and it’s only a year old.”
“You see what I have to put up with, Allison,” moaned Ernest as if in physical pain. “When I leave, she will probably sell my TV, my chair, and who knows what else. I’m telling you this is a mean woman, she is.”
Allison smiled, but she wasn’t about to get in the middle of this. She sat back and quietly pondered her purpose there and waited to see what the outcome would be. The thought came to her right then that it would be best to dispel any false notions of control over the events that were in the process of unfolding before her today and during the coming days. Something was coming alive, she sensed, and for the most part, it would chart its own course.
The next thing Allison became aware of was the absence of one of her hosts, Rosa Lee. Only Ernest was in the room, and he sat looking at the muted screen as if nothing happened. The silence ended abruptly with Rosa Lee’s voice booming from the top of the stairs. “Ernest, will you wear your new underwear if I pack them?”
Turning to Ernest with her heart about to burst with happiness, she asked him a single question. “You’re coming with me?”
Barely bothering to take his eyes from the big screen, he said loudly, “Yes, I’ll wear them.” Then with a mischievous smile he turned to Allison, “Of course, I’m coming with you. I’m a Dandelion, aren’t I, and you know what Dandelions do, don’t you?”
“They always come back,” answered a very happy Allison. The relief she felt was indescribable. Two of the Dandelions were present, accounted for, and heading west.