Conflict of Emotions

Janice was headstrong as a child and more so as a teenager. After church on Sunday nights she was supposed to go straight home. Not once did she go directly home. Janice almost always rode with her best friend, Minnie Laws, after church. Every Sunday night, Minnie asked Janice if she was going home. Janice would answer, “No, I am going to the Palace.” Janice’s parents did not own a car, so she walked to church and a church member would give her a ride home. Usually, Minnie took her wherever she wanted to go. As Minnie and Janice pulled up to the Palace one evening, Minnie said, “I am lucky tonight, there is a parking space right in front.” The Palace was a gathering place for teenagers. It consisted of a small restaurant with a large room at the side; this room had a jukebox and plenty of dancing space. The dancing area opened on three sides, and each side had roll-up doors that looked like those found on garages. As a matter of fact, the whole place had a used-to-be-a-garage look about it. The music played loud enough to be heard several blocks away. Janice did not know how to dance, but she enjoyed watching the dancers and being with her friends. Janice and Minnie had been at the Palace for twenty minutes when a young man asked Minnie to dance. Minnie smiled and walked to the dance floor. Another young man asked Janice to dance. She did not want to tell him she did not know how to dance. Without delay, she said, “I do not dance with young men I don’t know.” “My name is Christopher Blunt.” Janice looked around and started walking off. Chris grabbed her arm, “You are not being fair. I’ve told you my name, why not tell me yours?” Janice said, “We have not been properly introduced.” “I told you my name,” he replied. “Yes, you gave me a name, but you will have to be introduced to me by someone I know and someone who knows you. Now, will you please leave me alone?” Chris walked away. Janice thought she had seen the last of him. A few minutes later, he came back – but not alone. “Do you know her?” Chris asked the young man with him. “Sure, I know her,” the young man said smiling in Janice’s direction. Chris looked at Janice and asked, “Do you know Harold?” She looked at Harold and said, “Everyone knows Harold Thomas.” Harold said, “Janice, I would like you to meet a nice young man.” He placed his hand on Chris’s shoulder and pushed him closer to her. “This is Chris Blunt. Chris, this is Janice Scruggs.” Janice placed her hand in Chris’s hand, smiled and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Chris.” Again Chris asked her to dance. She told him that she had never learned to dance. “I’ll be glad to teach you to dance,” he said, pulling her toward the dance floor. “Just follow the steps I make; I will lead and you will follow. If you step on my foot, I won’t notice.” He placed his arm around her waist and said, “Listen to the music and follow my lead.” The song playing was “Your Precious Love,” by Jerry Butler. Before the record had ended, Janice felt as thought she were floating on air. Chris was so easy to follow. She thought of the fun she had been missing because she had always been too shy to learn to dance. I will never be called a wallflower again, she thought. Before the night was over, Janice knew she would like to see Chris again. They made a date for the next weekend. Janice’s parents did not care for Chris. He had the reputation of being a Romeo. In addition, he had dropped out of Dillard High School during his senior year. They discussed their feelings, and left the final decision to her. As a result, she dated Chris every weekend. However, she was not permitted to date during the week. For their dates, Chris borrowed his older brother’s station wagon – affectionately called “Woody” —drove to Pompano and picked her up, then he drove back to Fort Lauderdale. As they drove along, she could see the road through the large hole in the floor. Sixth Street Sundry, on the corner of Northwest Sixth Street and Ninth Avenue was the most popular teenager hangout in Fort Lauderdale. If Chris and Janice did not go to the Thunderbird Drive-In, they danced and ate hamburgers at the Sundry. After Janice graduated from Blanche Ely High School, she could not decide which college she wanted to attend. She and Minnie talked on the telephone for hours, discussing different colleges. They finally decided it would be either Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Tallahassee or Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia. They eventually chose FAMU. After Janice and Minnie agreed on a college, Janice informed her parents of their choice. Everything became one big rush: hurry and get our physical, hurry and fill out the papers for the college. Still, Janice enjoyed all the planning she and Minnie had to do. At last everything was settled: Janice and Minnie would be roommates. They planned to leave for Tallahassee at the end of August. In the meantime, Chris had been asking Janice if she really wanted to attend school away from home. “Why not go to Broward Junior College for two years, then switch to a four-year institution?” he asked. In addition to the pressure from Chris, Janice’s mother said to her, “If only you were not going to college, I could buy another house.” Janice’s family lived in a wooden house and her mother wanted to purchase a home made with concrete. She asked, “Mom, would you prefer another house? I can stay home and get a job. Maybe I could start college next year.” “No,” answered Mrs. Scruggs. “I want you to get an education so you can better your position in life.” From time to time, Chris asked her to consider attending a local college. Janice began to feel she was being pulled in two directions at once. Her mother wanted another home and Chris did not want her to go away to school.