Langston Hughes

“ How come this fly-by-night Methodist preacher over here ... ain’t been here three months ... tries to stand up on my store porch and tries to tell me how to run my town? (MATTIE CLARK, the Mayor’s wife, comes timidly to the door, wiping her hands on her apron.) Ain’t no man gonna tell me how to run my town. ”

“ JOE LINDSAY grabs TEETS and WALTER THOMAS grabs BOOTSIE. There is dancing, treating and general jollification. Little children dance the parse-me-la. The music fills the air just as the sun begins to go down. Enter DAISY TAYLOR coming down the road toward the store.)
CLARK.
(Bawls out from the store porch) I God, there’s Daisy again.
(Most of the dancing stops, the music slows down and then stops completely. DAVE and JIM greet DAISY casually as she approaches the porch.) ”

“ LOUNGER.
White folks needs jails. We colored folks don’t need no jail.
ANOTHER VILLAGER.
Yes, we do, too. Elder Simms is right....
(The argument becomes a hubbub of voices.)
TAYLOR.
(Putting down his basket) Now, I tell you a jail....
MRS. TAYLOR.
(Emerging from the store door, arms full of groceries, looking at her husband) Yeah, and if you don’t shut up and git these rations home I’m gonna be worse on you than a jail and six judges. Pickup that basket and let’s go. (TONY meekly picks up the basket and he and his wife exit as the sound of an approaching guitar is heard off stage.) ”

“ Aw, come on, Jim.... You must be jealous....
JIM.
No, I ain’t jealous. I jus’ get tired of seein’that ol’ nigger clownin’all the time.
DAVE.
(Laughing and pointing to JIM on porch) Look at that mad baby. Take that lip up off the ground. Got your mouth stuck out jus’ because some one is enjoying themselves. (He comes up and pushes JIM playfully.)
JIM.
You better go head and let me alone. (TO DAISY) Come here, Daisy!
LIGE.
That’s just what I say. Niggers can’t have no fun without someone getting mad ... specially over a woman. ”

“ JIM.
Yes, I do, darling, I love you. Youse de one letting a spade come between us. (HE caresses her) I loves you and you only. You don’t see me dragging a whole gang of farming tools into us business, do you?
DAISY.
(Stiffly) Well, I ain’t going to marry no man that ain’t going to work and take care of me.
JIM.
I don’t mind working if de job ain’t too heavy for me. I ain’t going to bother wid nothin’ in my hands heavier than dis box ... and I totes it round my neck ’most of de time.
(DAISY makes a despairing gesture as JIM takes a step or two away from her. She turns to DAVE finally.) ”

“ During the act the women all dressed up in starched dresses parade in and out of store. People buying groceries, kids playing in the street, etc. General noise of conversation, laughter and children shouting. But when the curtain rises there is momentary lull for cane-chewing. At left of porch four men are playing cards on a soap box, and seated on the edge of the porch at extreme right two children are engaged in a checker game, with the board on the floor between them. ”

“ Gal, youse jus’ as pretty as a speckled pup.
DAISY.
(Giggling) I see you two boys always playin’and singin’ together. That music sounded right good floating down the road.
JIM.
Yeah, child, we’se been playin’for the white folks all week. We’se playin’for the colored now.
DAVE.
(Showing off, twirling his dancing feet) Yeah, we’re standin’on our abstract and livin’on our income.
OLD MAN.
Um-ump, but they ain’t never workin’. Just round here playing as usual.
JIM.
Some folks think you ain’t workin’lessen you smellin’a mule. (He sits back down on box and picks at his guitar.) ”

“ We do so know how to run things, don’t we? Ain’t Brother Mayor a Methodist, and ain’t the school-teacher a ...? (His remarks are drowned out by the others.)
SIMMS.
No, we don’t like the way you’re runnin’ things. Now looka here, (Pointing at the Marshall) You got that lazy Lum Boger here for marshall and he ain’t old enough to be dry behind his ears yet ... and all these able-bodied means in this town! You won’t ’low nobody else to run a store ’ceptin’ you. And looka yonder (happening to notice the street light) only street lamp in town, you got in front of your place. ”

“ Thank God, I ain’t gray all over. I’m just as good a man right now as any of you young ’uns. (He hurries on into the store.)
WALTER.
Daisy, where’s yo’ two body guards? It don’t look natural to see you thout nary one of ’em.
DAISY.
(Archly) I ain’t got no body guards. I don’t know what you talkin’ about.
LIGE.
Aw, don’ try to come dat over us, Daisy. You know who we talkin’ ’bout all right ... but if you want me to come out flat footed ... where’s Jim and Dave?
DAISY.
Ain’t they playin’ somewhere for de white folks? ”

“ Dem boys been de best of friends all they life, till both of ’em took after you ... then good-bye, Katy bar de door!
DAISY.
(Affected innocence) Ain’t they still playin’ and dancin’ together?
LIGE.
Yeah, but that’s ’bout all they do ’gree on these days. That’s de way it is wid men, young and old.... I don’t keer how long they been friends and how thick they been ... a woman kin come between ’em. David and Jonather never would have been friends so long if Jonather had of been any great hand wid de wimmen. You ain’t never seen no two roosters that likes one another. ”

“ Don’t no girl as good-lookin’as you is have to go home by herself tonight.
JIM.
No, cause I’m here.
DAVE.
(To DAISY) Don’t you trust yourself round that like wid all them ’gators and moccasins with that nigger there, Daisy (Pointing at JIM) He’s jus’ full of rabbit blood. What you need is a real man ... with good feet. (Cutting a dance step.)
DAISY.
I ain’t thinking ’bout goin’home yet. I’m goin’in the store. ”

“ Naw indeed, never syndicate wid niggers. Do, they will distriminate you. They’ll be an anybody. You goin’to de trial, ain’t you?
MRS. BLUNT.
Just as sho as you snore. An’ they better leave Daisy’s name outa dis, too. I done told her and told her to come straight home from her work. Naw, she had to stop by dat store and skin her gums back wid dem trashy niggers. She better not leave them white folks today to come traipsin’over here scornin’her name all up wid dis nigger mess. Do, I’ll kill her. No daughter of mine ain’t goin’to do as she please, long as she live under de sound of my voice. ”

“ Looka here, Hambo. Y’all Baptist carry dis close-communion business too far. If a person ain’t half drownded in de lake and half et up by alligators, y’all think he ain’t baptized, so you can’t take communion wid him. Now I reckon you can’t even drink lemonade and eat chicken perlow wid us.
HAMBO.
My Lord, boy, youse just full of words. Now, in de first place, if this year’s picnic was lak de one y’all had last year ... you ain’t had no lemonade for us Baptists to turn down. You had a big ole barrel of rain water wid about a pound of sugar in it and one lemon cut up over de top of it. ”

“ JIM.
You was. Didn’t I hear you coming down de track all whistling and everything?
DAVE.
Youse a big ole Georgy-something-ain’t-so! I done got my belly full of Daisy Sat’day night. She can’t snore in my ear no more.
DAISY.
(Indignantly) Whut you come here low-ratin’ me for, Dave Carter? I ain’t done nothin’ to you but treat you white. Who come rubbed yo’ ole head for you yestiddy if it wasn’t me?
DAVE.
Yeah, you rubbed my head all right, and I lakted dat. But everybody say you done toted a pan to Joe Clarke’s barn for Jim before I seen you. ”

“ I tell you whut, Jim! Less us don’t go nowhere. They sentenced you to leave Eatonville and youse more than a mile from de city limits already. Youse in Maitland now. Supposin’ you come live on de white folks’ place wid me after we git married. Eatonville ain’t got nothin’ to do wid you livin’ in Maitland.
JIM.
Dat’a a good idea, Daisy.
DAISY.
(Jumping into his arms) And listen, honey, you don’t have to be beholden to Dave nor nobody else. You can throw dat ole box away if you want to. I know ehre you can get a swell job. ”

“ Soap boxes, axe handles, small kegs, etc., on porch on which townspeople sit and lounge during action. Above the roof of the porch the “false front”, or imitation second story of the shop is seen with large sign painted across it “JOE CLARK’S GENERAL STORE”. Large kerosine street lamp on post at right in front of porch.
Saturday afternoon and the villagers are gathered around the store. Several men sitting on boxes at edge of porch chewing sugar cane, spitting tobacco juice, arguing, some whittling, others eating peanuts. ”

“ De man or women, chick or child, grizzly or gray, that tells me to my face anything wrong ’bout my chile, I’m goin’ to take my fist (Rolls up right sleeve and gestures with right fist) and knock they teeth down they throat. (She looks ferocious) ’Case y’all know I raised my Daisy right round my feet till I let her go up north last year wid them white folks. I’d ruther her to be in de white folks’ kitchen than walkin’de streets like some of dese girls round here. If I do say so, I done raised a lady. She can’t help it if all dese mens get stuck on her. ”

“ Every time I look, youse round here beggin’ for everything you see.
LIGE.
And whut she don’t see she whoops for it just de same.
MRS. ROBERTS.
(In dramatic begging pose) Mist’ Clark! Ain’t you boin’ do nuthin’ for me? And you see me and my poor chillun is starvin’....
CLARK.
(Exasperated rises) I God, woman, a man can’t git no peace wid somebody like you in town. (He goes angrily into the store followed by MRS. ROBERTS. The boy sits down on the edge of the porch sucking the baby’s thumb.) ”

“ A high stretch of railroad track thru a luxurious Florida forest. It is near sundown.
ACTION: When the curtain rises there is no one on the stage, but there is a tremendous noise and hubbub off-stage right. There are yells of derision and shouts of anger. Part of the mob is trying to keep JIM in town, and part is driving him off. After a full minute of this, JIM enters with his guitar hanging around his neck and his coat over his shoulder. The sun is dropping low and red thru the forest. He is looking back angrily and shouting at the mob. A missile is thrown after him. ”

“ Specially Dave Carter, much as me and him done progue’d ’round together goin’ in swimmin’ an’ playin’ ball an’ serenadin’ de girls an’ de white folks. (He sits there gloomily silent for awhile, then looks behind him and picks up his guitar and begins to pick a tune. The music is very sad, but he trails off into, “YOU MAY LEAVE AN’ GO TO HALIMUHFACKS, BUT MY SLOW DRAG WILL BRING YOU BACK.” When he finishes he looks at the sun and picks up his coat.) ”

“ We oughta stop runnin’ these people out of town that misbehaves, and lock ’em up. Others towns has jails, everytown I ever pastored had a jail. Don’t see how come we can’t have one.
CLARK.
(Towering angrily above the preacher) Now, wait a minute, Simms. Don’t you reckon the man who knows how to start a town knows how to run it? I paid two hundred dollars out of this right hand for this land and walked out here and started this town befo’ you was born. I ain’t like some of you new niggers, come here when grapes’ ripe. ”

“ HAMBO.
Well, I’m going to draw dem tushes right now. (To two small boys using checker board on edge of porch.) Here you chilluns, let de Mayor and me have that board. Go on out an’ play an’ give us grown folks a little peace. (The children go down stage and call out:)
SMALL BOY.
Hey, Senator. Hey, Marthy. Come on let’s play chick-me, chick-me, cranie-crow.
CHILD’S VOICE.
(Off stage) All right! Come on, Jessie! (Enter several children, led by SENATOR, and a game begins in front of the store as JOE CLARK and HAMBO play checkers.) ”

“ Arrest Jim.
LUM.
(Grabs JIM’S arm, relieves him of the mule bone and looks helplessly at the Mayor.) Now I got him arrested, what’s I going to do with him?
CLARK.
Lock him up back yonder in my barn till Monday when we’ll have the trial in de Baptist Church.
LINDSAY.
Yeah, just like all the rest of them Methodists ... always tryin’to take undercurrents on people.
WALTER.
Ain’t no worse then some of you Baptists, nohow. You all don’t run this town. We got jus’ as much to say as you have.
CLARK.
(Angrily to both men) Shut up! Done had enough arguing in front of my place. ”

“ All men favors they guts, chile. But what you think of all dis mess they got goin’on round here?
SISTER THOMAS.
I just think it’s a sin an’ a shame befo’ de livin’ justice de way dese Baptis’ niggers is runnin’round here carryin’on.
SISTER TAYLOR.
Oh, they been puttin’out the brags ever since Sat’day night ’bout whut they gointer do to Jim. They thinks they runs this town. They tell me Rev. CHILDERS preached a sermon on it yistiddy.
SISTER THOMAS.
Lawd help us! He can’t preach an’ he look like 10 cents worth of have-mercy let lone gittin’up dere tryin’to throw slams at us. ”

“ Let her have ’em ... nobody don’t keer. They don’t handle de “In God we trust” lak my Johnson. He’s head bellman at de hotel.
BOOTSIE.
Mr. Cox got money’s grandma and old grandpa change. (The girls exit huffily.)
LINDSAY.
(To HAMBO, pseudo-seriously) You oughtn’t tease dem gals lak dat.
HAMBO.
Oh, I laks to see gals all mad. But dem boys is crazy sho nuff. Before Daisy come back here they both had a good-looking gal a piece. Now they ’bout to fall out and fight over half a gal a piece. Neither one won’t give over and let de other one have her. ”