MISS HAZEL
by
JONATHAN ODELL
Copyright © 2014 Jonathan Odell
Odell, Jonathan
Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League/ by Jonathan Odell
1. Women’s—fiction 2. African American women—fiction 3. Housewives—fiction 4. Civil Rights—fiction 5. Mississippi—fiction 6. 1950s—fiction I. Title
Miss Hazel HC: 978-1-940210-02-5
Miss Hazel PB: 978-1-940210-04-9
Miss Hazel EB: 978-1-940210-05-6
Interior and jacket design by Laura Klynstra
Photograph of young women courtesy of Arlene Beard Norton
Photograph of Hazel and Jonathan courtesy of the author
First Edition
All rights reserved. This is a revision of The View from Delphi, originally published by MacAdam/Cage, copyright © 2004.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the Publisher. For information contact: Maiden Lane Press, 811 Palmer Road, Suite AA, Bronxville, NY 10708, email: [email protected]
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to people, living or dead, or actual events is coincidental.
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Distributed by Ingram Publisher Services
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my parents, Faye and Odell Johnson
Your stories have mattered
CONTENTS
Chapter One: A Man Who Takes Care Of His Own
Chapter Two: The View From Delphi
Chapter Three: A Deal With The Devil
Chapter Four: The Way Of The Mule
Chapter Seven: Mother And Child
Chapter Eight: Up To The Big House
Chapter Nine: The Trois Arts League
Chapter Eleven: Fishers Of Men
Chapter Twelve: Late Night Visitation
Chapter Thirteen: Jesus In The Graveyard
Chapter Fourteen: One Wing Hannah’s
Chapter Fifteen: A Manger Scene
Chapter Sixteen: Broken Things
Chapter Seventeen: Hidden In Clear View
Chapter Nineteen: Switching Places
Chapter Twenty: The Maids Of Tarbottom
Chapter Twenty-One: Plots And Conspiracies
Chapter Twenty-Two: Lillie Dee’s Funeral
Chapter Twenty-Three: Dreaming Nate
Chapter Twenty-Four: Word From Up North
Chapter Twenty-Five: A Gathering Of Maids
Chapter Twenty-Six: Missing Things
Chapter Twenty-Seven: It’s Only Make-Believe
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Many Mansions
Chapter Twenty-Nine: True Stories
Chapter Thirty: The Citizens’ Council
Chapter Thirty-One: A Burned-Out Shack In The Heart Of The Woods
Chapter Thirty-Two: Morning Picnic
Chapter Thirty-Three: Fireflies
Chapter Thirty-Four: The Mammy