“I looked up to see a man, who wasn’t her brother, on the gooseneck stage. It was a good-looking’ man standing on the goose-neck stage. Straight ahead of us! I thought, “Oh my Lord in Heaven, what in the Hell is Frankie doing?”
“Brother” was a very handsome man, for sure. He was dressed in the most beautiful purple cape I’d ever seen, with the purple hood hanging off his shoulders. His jet-black hair shinning in th’ evenin’ sun. Even though I’d never been to a K.K.K rally, I knew he had to be someone very important. Girls, he was the Boss. Head Honcho. The Main man. El’ Presidente. El’ Diablo. Maybe he was the Lord’s most beautiful angels, Satan, himself!
“He wasn’t no dam angel and thankfully not Satan either. But he was the Grand Dragon of the KKK of Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana. I couldn’t believe what Frankie had just said. What-the-hell was she thainkin’?, I thought, she’s gonna get us in all kinds of trouble. I realized my mouth was open. I covered it with my left hand, where the friendly Gateman couldn’t see me holding my mouth. Then I tried to relax and leaned back. Gotta little closer to snotty-nosed Danny Ray. I was thinking, I’m not feeling too good. Ready to leave now. Please turn around and let’s go home.”
“And he did “fix us up”. Oh my God. I thought, please help us, Lord. Frankie slapped Aunt Dee’s leg as we drove away from Mr. Gateman and was tryin’ not to laugh out loud. Aunt Dee, over there, was as smooth as Sinatra. She smiled and waved daintily with her fingers like this was just another day to her. Just like a real Southern Belle would. I was getting sicker and I guess I was looking sick too.”
Dee spoke up, “She turned gray, I swear. Looked like she lost all of her blood supply.”
Gus asked Dee, “Hey, whose tellin’ this story?” Dee winked at her and smiled her devilish grin with her big red lips.
“Aunt Dee’s Caddie was flagged up to the very front of the gooseneck trailer/stage, a little to the left side of it. I tried not to throw up, thinking about nice things, like swimming in the creek. After she put the car in park, Aunt Dee saw the look on my face and asked if I was sick.”
“Yes ma’am, huh lil’”, was all I could say. But Frankie, she was on it. She poured some cool-aide for me and said “sip on it slow for a’ while, honey”. What was surprising, it really did help settle my stomach.”
“And Danny Ray was being so good. Thank the Lord, he was still asleep. But birds could’ve built a nest in my mouth. And sick? I was thinking how sick I felt at my stomach and I can’t believe we’re at a KKK rally.
“The car was still and quiet for the first hour.” “Lucy and Ethel,” huh, I mean Aunt Deee and Frankie, “sat just as quiet. They were staring at everyone going by the caddie. Hey, their mouths was wide open too!” They smiled and nodded their heads in agreement with Gus, both thinking back to that hour.
“To the right of the stage was a few carnival rides. I did not ask to ride them. Normally, yes, I would have. But I was thinkin’, I don’t want to get out of this car. There is no way in Satan’s hell, I will ask to ride on anything those people have. Even if they are free. They looked normal, but they weren’t. They had a history of hate and murder. I read about the Klansmen here and there all of my short little-life. I also heard the old men talking about the good ole’ days when “you-could-whoop-a-nigger-and-no-one-said-a-word.” No, I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t understand why they wanted us to be there. All I could do was shake my head, a lot.
“I thought I could almost see the evil in some of the capped men’s eyes in the field and on the side of the highway that night. Maybe. Yeah, it was there. Pure-d-evil. Free carnival, no way. They can have it all to themselves. Didn’t want none of it. Later that night it was a show I’ll never forget.”
“I could never tell Lu about it. Can you see me telling her? “Lu, we went to a KKK rally?" Oh, but I wanted to, because of all the funny things that Lucy and Ethel over there, did.” Everyone laughed, even Lucy and Ethel.
“I wanted to tell Lu how scary it really was. All of those men with their sheets on and guns were everywhere. And the worse part of it, those people were laughin’ and carryin’ on like they were at a family reunion!
Besides all of that, it was the most exciting thing I’d ever done at that point of my life. Lord knows, I wanted to tell Lu allll about it. Except the part about Sunny. I really wanted to help them get Dale back for all of his cheatin’, so I knew I had to keep my mouth shut tighter than ever. I could never tell a soul.
In fact, I never did tell anyone until today and that’s only because Aunt Lucy’s dead in the ground. It’s just not something you can tell people. “I went to a KKK rally once.” Really? In this day and time? Might think I’m a card member, you know? Or just think I’m making it up to impress them with a wilded-eyed story. Like my cousin, Eric’s stories. I even-thought it sounded way out there! Me? Going to a KKK rally?”
The Gus looked across Mrs. Tooley at Frankie and said, “I’m thirsty now. It’s your turn.”
“This is where it get’s down right funny. Everyone here know Larry Howard, huh?
“Yeah, he delivers my mail. Think he’s getting’ ready for retirement.” Tina Joe said.
“Yeah, he is. I let him in on it too, ‘bout a year later. Don’t ask me why, but I didn’t think about him delivering that K.K.K. shit to my house.”
“Every time Dale would get one of those membership cards he’d come in and start cussin’ and it would take all I had to not laugh in front of him. Sometimes I’d have to walk off in ‘nother room and act like I was busy so he wouldn’t see me laughin’. But I never thought ‘bout Larry seein’em. Then ‘bout the third one, Dale comes in and says, “Now, Larry won’t speak to me. He thinks I’m a real member of the dam Klu Klux Klan.” I was in the kitchen actin’ like I missed a spot on a plate and rinsin’ it off, laughin’ outta th’ window and I saw Larry walk over to the Lee’s house. He was walkin’ pretty slow. Like he lost his best friend. That’s when I thought we’d have to catch him alone and tell him th’ truth. It hurt my heart that he was hurt by those dammed cards. So I had Dee tell’im.”
“I did. Yeah. He laughed, said it was the funniest thaing he’d heard in ‘long time. Larry also dropped a little juicy gossip on me too. Said Dale tried to “talk” to Sunny, but she turned her nose up to him. And to our relief Sunny even told Ms. Lucy about it.”
“White men done gotta’ bad name a hundre’ years ago, where most of our women are concerned. She already knew that, he said.”
So we stood on my front porch and cooked up a buncha’ crap he could say to Dale when he delivered the mail. We got him from both sides. But I did ask him not to tell Aunt Lucy about us going to that dam rally and especially ‘bout taking Gus with us. He promised he’d never tell. And as far as I know, he didn’t.
Sissy spoke up, “Ms. Frankie, I’d never figure ou’d do somethin’ like that in a million years. And it sounds like ya’ll had half the town on Dale. That is too funny.”
“Well honey, I was sick and tired of that Sum’abitch runnin’ ‘round on me and was willing to do anythin’ short’ killin’ th’ bastad. I just pray that none of you girls are havin’ that problem. Men!”
“No, not me.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Sometimes, I’m not sure. But I don’t care… I just need his money at this point. The love’s been gone for years.”
“Yeah, I’ll tell you what Aunt Lucy used to say, “Honey, it just be’s that way sometimes.””
Everyone laughed.
“Finish the story Dee”, said Frankie
“If I remember right, two weeks later Gus was doing some weeding in my flower bed ‘round some big sunflowers I had that summer. Here comes Dale, wanting to talk to over the fence. Mostly small talk about the neighborhood. Normally, I didn’t give him the time of day, but that day I had my reasons to speak to him. I wanted to rattle his little evil-cheatin’-mind, get him upset. And I did all rat. He was nice enough and finally all of the small talk ended and he started fussing about some damn K.K.K. membership cards coming in the mail.” She was laughing when she mocked him,
“"No and hell no, I didn’t join." he said loudly."Got four of those dammed cards. Wonder who'd send’em to me? If I ever find out who did it, I'm gonna kick their ass.””
“I tried to act concerned for him. I never skipped a beat when I innocently asked him”,
“"Well, Dale, who do you think it was?"”
“” I don’t know. But if I ever... it’s not gonna be good, that’s for dam sure.””
“”I hope you figure it out.””
“” Gotta get ta work right now. Later.””
“Gus didn't look over at us at all, she couldn’t. She was grinning too hard. I could see the side of her face. She kept her head down, turned her back to us and carried on with her weedin’.”
“When Dale closed his car door, Gus smiled up at my sunflowers. And said out loud, “Wonder if the KKK ever got that wife-beating-husband-cheating crap under control.”
“Thought I was gonna have a heart attack, ‘cause he stopped his car at the end of the driveway. I waited for him to get outta the car and come back and be mad. But Thank the Good Lord in Heaven, he didn’t! He didn’t hear her. He was just looking for cars before he pulled out.”
Gus broke in, and pointing to her Aunt Dee, “she comes runnin’ over to the flower bed and yells at me, “little girl, I’m gonna beat your ass.”
“I wanted to.” Dee replied.
“Ya’ll are some-kinda-of-crazy!” Tina Joe declared.
Frankie was wiping her eyes from laughing, “Yes ma’am, we’ve certainly been guilty of being some-kind-of-crazy. Yes ma’am!”