ALMA: There were days when I ran with those guys. I just ran and ran. I didn’t know I could run. My mother Odelia–I never called her “Mom,” “Mother,” or “Mama”–just Odelia–she always made fun of me. (ODELIA) “Ole big fat funny lookin’ thing can’t run–old fat funny lookin’ thing can’t do nuttin’.” But I could run. I really began to run. (Beat) One day after school the three of us were playing our “running game.” Gene yells–

EUGENE: “Okay, we’re going through the jungle. There are vultures on both sides and the sky is filled with crows and you know what that means! That means somebody is gonna die so we gotta run–RUN FAST. We can’t let the vultures get us!”

ALMA: Alton and Eugene are running real fast and I’m having a hard time catching up. Then Gene turns around and yells–

EUGENE: “You can do it Alma–you run real well–don’t let the vultures get you. You can do it–come on Alma.”

ALMA: He stops for a second and takes me by the hand.

EUGENE: (Stops and takes her hand) “Come on Alma!”

ALMA: We run together. We run through the jungle. We survive the jungle. We finish running and the three of us fall to the ground–

EUGENE: “I told you! I told you you could do it! You did it!”

ALMA: We’re lying on the grass, Alton, Eugene, and I, and I say “Let’s sing the Monkees song!” (She sings) “Hey, hey, we’re the Monkees…”

EUGENE: (Joining in) “People say we monkey around/but we’re too busy singing/to put anybody down …”

EUGENE: There was a boy in school named Wyce who was light–if not a little lighter than me. (WYCE) “Why you hanging out with those darkassed Geechies for? Didn’t your momma tell you not to do that?” (EUGENE) “No, my daddy’s dark.” (WYCE) “Yeah that’s right. I forgot. Your momma shouldn’t have done that but at least you’re light like her.”

ALMA: Odelia began to get upset with me not coming straight home from school. (ODELIA) “Alma ya got to be mo ladylike. Stop rippin’ an rarin’ all over the place. Look at your hair all nappy from sweat. It don’t look nice for a girl to be runnin’–especially cause ya so big. Ya don’t look good runnin’–ya TOO BIG an lawd runnin’ in dis heat, ya don’t wanna git black.”

EUGENE: I ask Wyce, “So what I’m light. So what you’re light. Who cares? What does it matter?” He looks at me like I’m crazy. (WYCE) “What does it matter? Boy you wanna look like a spook an talk like some blackass Geechie?”