The Boxcar Blues (12 page)

The doctor hesitated, then said, “I can’t
help her right now. My schedule is too busy. Try another
doctor.”

“
When would you have time,
sir?”

“
I’m busy for several
weeks. Try someone else.”

Catwalk got the message; it wasn’t about
money or busy schedules, this was about the color of his skin. He
left feeling disheartened, but no less determined. He wasn’t going
to let people’s attitudes stand in the way of his Momma getting the
help she needed. He decided to walk to Mr. Slade’s farm and talk to
him about finding a doctor. His former boss had brought in a black
doctor for his father when he was sick. He’d see if Slade could get
the same doctor for his Momma.

The walk took him two hours, but he found
his former boss working on an irrigation pump. The farm owner
greeted him, “Hello, Luke. I didn’t know you were back in these
parts.”

“
Yes sir, Mr. Slade. I’ve
been working out in New Mexico, but I came back ‘cause my Momma’s
down sick. They think she’s got leukemia.”

Slade walked a few steps to the shade of an
oak tree. When they were out of the sun, he said, “I’m sorry to
hear that. Your Momma’s a real nice lady.”

“
Mr. Slade, I’m looking
for a doctor. I tried Doctor Graves, but he said he’s too busy. I
want to find the black doctor that you had for Daddy.”

“
Oh, yes. Doc Abernathy.
I’m afraid he died, Luke; passed on a few months ago.”

“
Do you know of any other
black doctors around here?”

“
I don’t, Luke. You might
try Doctor Sherman in Meridian. If you can wait while I repair this
pump, I’ll drive you in to town.”

Catwalk knew if his old boss was with him,
the doctor might be more inclined to help him. He said, “I would
appreciate that. Let me give you a hand with that pump.”

An hour later, they drove to the doctor’s
office in Meridian and had to wait about twenty minutes before
seeing the doctor. When they got in to see him, the doctor agreed
to look at Dee, but said it would be two days before he could fit
her in his schedule. Relieved, Catwalk paid him for one visit, then
rode back to the farm. On the way, he asked Mr. Slade, “I might be
here for a while to help my Momma get better. Do you have any work
available?”

“
Luke, you were one of the
best farm hands I ever had; you could out work any two other men,
but I’ve had a hard time selling my crops and I might have to let
some of my hands go.”

Luke thought about his family. If Mr. Moore
ever had a problem selling his crops, their employment was in
danger. What would they do if Moore laid them off? He said, “I’m
sorry you’re having problems. I guess nobody has much money.”

“
That’s the hell of it,
son. Once people stop working, they stop buying soon
after.”

When Catwalk returned home, Sam said his
Mother was sleeping. They sat on the porch and he told Sam about
Mr. Slade taking him to see Doctor Sherman.

Sam said, “I hope he tells us something
good,” then added, “Do you know how long you’ll be staying
here?”

“
No, I don’t. I have to
see that Momma gets whatever she needs to make her better. Are you
going back to New Mexico soon?”

“
I promised Barney I
wouldn’t stay long. They’ll be bucking barley soon and he’ll need
me to cook for the harvest crew.”

The thought of Sam leaving troubled Catwalk.
Her support had been comforting and reassuring. He didn’t want her
to go, and said, “It’s too bad you can’t stay.”

“
Do you want me to
stay?”

“
I wish you could stay.
You’ve been a lot of help, but I know you have to go
back.”

Sam smiled and said, “Catwalk Jackson,
that’s so nice of you to say that.”

“
I’ve been thinking it a
lot, but everything I think doesn’t come out in words.”

“
I know; I’m the same way.
I’ve been thinking a lot of things that I haven’t said
either.”

“
Is it about us getting
married?”

“
Well, that and having
kids one day.”

Catwalk looked at Sam to read her sincerity.
Her smile told him, she wasn’t kidding. He cleared his throat and
said, “I better check on Momma.”

Alton Jones drove straight east until he
came to Clovis, New Mexico. There he stopped long enough to siphon
some gas out of a truck parked near a grain silo. He then drove
across the Texas border driving until he came to the town of
Hereford. Because he’d burned that farm hand and was driving a
stolen car, the local police around Cimarron would be looking for
him. His best plan would be to lie low here until things cooled
off.

He was convinced that the farm hand had lied
to him and that the Jackson boy would be returning to that farm.
He’d give the boy time to return, then, he’d go back to the farm
and finish the job. He had nothing else to do, but avoid the law
and wait for the Jackson boy to show himself.

Two days later they took Dee to the doctor’s
office. After the first examination and blood test, the doctor told
Catwalk, “Son, I’ve confirmed that your Mother has leukemia, but
most leukemia can be treated. Have you ever heard of a blood
transfusion?”

“
No, sir. What’s
that?”

“
Well, this disease is
caused by her white blood cells becoming abnormal to the point that
they don’t make enough normal blood cells in her bone marrow. This
causes infections, anemia and bleeding. By giving her a
transfusion, I am putting normal blood back into her system. This
should help her, but there’s no guarantee it will work. Also, we
might have to do this several times and the problem is, we don’t
have enough clean blood to do that.”

Catwalk became defensive, “If she was white,
would they have enough clean blood?”

The doctor shook his head and said, “Son,
it’s not a question of color. There just isn’t enough blood. The
only way we get blood is when people donate it and no one is doing
that right now. Also, there’s so much disease and sickness around,
it’s darn hard to find someone who is healthy enough to donate
blood.”

“
Can I donate
blood?”

“
Yes, you can; you’ll have
to.”

Catwalk said, “How about my brothers and
sisters?”

“
I’ll take blood from the
older children, but not the younger ones.”

“
How about all the other
workers? If they have the right blood, can they donate?”

“
Yes, if they’re healthy,
and if their blood is the right type, they can donate.”

“
When do we
start?”

“
I’ll have to keep your
Mother here for a few days. We’ll take your blood now. Sometime in
the next few days, we’ll take blood from your older brothers and
sisters.”

Catwalk went in to see his Momma. He hugged
her, then said, “We’re going to get you better, Momma. I’m going to
donate some blood now so they can give you a transfusion. The
doctor said Georgie, Cecil and Rose Ann can donate too. The clean
blood will make you better.”

Dee smiled and said, “Luke, just having you
around makes me feel better. I’m so glad you’re here.”

“
We’re going to get you
well, Momma. Why don’t you get some rest?”

She asked, “When I’m feeling better, will
you have to go back to New Mexico?”

“
I have to, Momma. I have
to repay Barney the money he loaned me.”

“
Can’t you work here, for
Mr. Slade, and send the money back to him?”

“
I already talked to him.
He’s not hiring anybody because he’s having trouble selling his
crops.”

Dee turned her head. Luke tried to sound
optimistic, “Momma, when I get Barney paid off, Mr. Slade might be
hiring. Maybe I can come back here to work.”

She knew things wouldn’t work out that way.
Still, she said, “That would be nice, Luke.”

Two days later, Sam and Catwalk were talking
on the porch. The time had come when she had to return to New
Mexico, but he hated the thought of her leaving. Also, he was
worried about her making the trip back by herself. He knew too well
the multitude of dangers that awaited a black person in a world
ruled by hostilities.

Sam said, “I’m leaving tomorrow morning. I
don’t want to go, but I promised Barney.”

“
I knew you’d have to
leave pretty soon.”

“
Oh, Cat. You don’t know
how much I hate leaving you. I don’t want us to be
apart.”

“
I don’t either, Sam, but
it can’t be helped. Once I get back we’ll have lots of time
together.”

Three kids from a neighboring shack started
playing around a shade tree in front of the porch. Feeling the
quiet privacy was at an end, Catwalk took Sam’s hand and said,
“Come on. Let’s go down to the pond.”

They walked hand in hand silently along the
creek, each of them trying to savor the few remaining minutes they
had together. When they arrived at the pond, they laid down in the
grass under a willow tree.

Catwalk put his arms around Sam and looked
into her eyes, feeling the love, devotion and strength that
emanated from within. She traced the outline of his face with a
finger and said, “You have to write me every day to let me know how
your Mom is doing.”

“
I will. I
promise.”

Catwalk kissed Sam, lightly at first.

“
Um-mm. Now I’m really
going to miss you.”

He kissed her again, this time with more
intensity. She responded with the passion that had been too long
dormant. Soon the pent up yearning and desire of two young people
in love took over. Beside a quiet pond in rural Mississippi,
Catwalk and Samantha sealed their love for eternity.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The next morning Catwalk walked Sam to the
bus station. Little was said until they reached the station where
Sam again reminded him to write and Catwalk promised he would. She
also pressed him to return as soon as possible, to which he also
agreed. In tears, she climbed the bus to Vicksburg and waved good
bye from the window. Standing alone in front of the general store,
for the first time in his life, Catwalk felt terribly alone.

Over the next week, Dee showed signs of
improvement. She returned to the farm so she could be with her
family, which the doctor thought would be more therapeutic than his
clinic. Even though he missed Sam terribly, Catwalk enjoyed the
time with his family. Whenever the neighbor lady came over to watch
Dee, he and Georgie went fishing down at the creek and he spent the
evenings reading to his brother and sisters. As much as he enjoyed
his family, there was a void in his life that only one person could
fill. He wrote to Sam faithfully every day, knowing the time when
they’d again be together was inching closer.

Four weeks after her transfusions, Dee had
recovered enough that Catwalk prepared to leave for New Mexico.
After another tearful good-bye, he took his bedroll, a sack of
vegetables and two molasses sandwiches and headed for the tracks
north of town. Barney had left him with enough money to buy a
ticket, but he’d rather save it to repay his debt. He realized
Barney’s loan saved his Momma’s life, but he’d discovered that he
didn’t like owing people money.

At the water tank outside of Meridian,
Catwalk lay down in the grass to wait for the next freight. When
heard the whistle in the distance, he lay still to see how many
other riders approached the open boxcars. If there were too many,
he’d wait for another train, rather than dealing with railroad
bulls that an army of riders attracted. He saw only a few men, so
when the drive wheels started their rotation, he found an open door
and trotted toward the car. He threw his bindle in and easily
vaulted into the moving freight car. Once inside he saw only two
other riders and one was asleep. He picked up his bindle and moved
to the far end of the car where he’d be by himself.

Catwalk slept for a few hours, but woke up
when the train slowed. He looked out the door and saw the sign for
Shreveport, Louisiana. This meant he’d be spending the next day or
so crossing Texas. He’d breathe a lot easier when he reached New
Mexico.

Just as the train started moving, a man and
woman jumped into the boxcar and sat down between him and the door.
The woman was carrying a small child who was crying. As she
comforted the child, she said, “Honey, we’re going to get something
to eat at the next stop. It won’t be long. I can’t believe those
people back there wouldn’t feed a child.”

The man said, “They were out of food,
Lorraine. The guy said they’d had so many people come through that
they just ran out.”

Catwalk took his last half sandwich and
approached the couple. When the woman saw him, she held the child
close and backed away in fright, saying, “Stay away from us. We
ain’t got any money.”

Ignoring her fear, Cat smiled, held out the
sandwich and said, “This is for your daughter. It’s molasses and
the bread is still fresh.”

The woman said nothing. Confused she turned
toward her husband. He took the sandwich and said, “Thank you.
You’re very kind.”

“
That’s O.K., I’ve been
hungry myself.”

The man said, “We stopped at the mission in
Shreveport, but they ran out of food. The guy said they just had
too many mouths to feed.”

Catwalk said, “Winter’s coming. More people
are coming down south.”

He returned to his spot and lay down. Again,
he counted himself lucky because although he might not eat until he
reached New Mexico, he didn’t have any kids to feed. He’d seen a
lot of families on the road with children and he always felt sorry
for the little ones who had no idea what kind of inhuman hell
they’d been thrust into.