Tenacious Tiger #2

7/13/42 -- They finally let us join, after all these years. I'm being sent to Moton tomorrow to start our introduction and basic training. I never would've dreamt of the day they let a black man fly a plane. And the 4th was great; it was a nice time to see my family before I leave. Cheap gin, sticky smoked sausages, and tangy lemonade. I'm gonna miss it all.

7/22/47 -- Hottest day of the year, today. I woke up around 3am and could see sweat beading up on Charlotte's back, reflecting the flashing MOTEL sign out the screen window. We were stewing in the heat last night, the only thing hotter was Char's breath on my neck while she slept. We need some rain.

8/12/50 -- We sent Michael off to his first day of school today. Charlotte broke down in the car and we had to wait to see him wave out the window before we could leave--even though we'd be back in 3 hours. I can tell already, he's born to be a football player like his dad. Char can't bear the thought of her boy growing up alone; so I've been exhausted these past few nights. She's an animal.

5/15/53 -- Charlotte and I went to Massey Hall tonight, downtown. Hot, sticky, blazing jazz was the vice de la nuit. Parker, Gillespie, Powell, Mingus, and Roach spent the night with their eyes shut, strings of notes being spat left and right . Rings of smoke hovered near the rafters as rich white men kept hitting on young white girls. Near the back, with Char and I, Rita and Tony danced 'round; bourbon in one hand, a sweat-drenched palm in the other. Booze, love, and bebop; these are the nights I live for.