Larry was 17 years old in 1974. He had lied about his age to get his first job, working at a steel fabrication shop. As he approached his 18th birthday, he had been working for nearly six months. Getting a loan to buy an inexpensive used car changed his life.
Race relations weren’t great between blacks and whites in Birmingham in 1974. Larry had started his education in all-black schools and then been part of integration, something that had been very controversial and at times confrontational. It was a time and place when many black people and many white people were suspicious of one another.
Larry’s attitude toward white people was guarded and suspicious. Who can blame him for feeling that way? He knew that many white people around him didn’t want him as part of their society. His attitudes hardened because of small battles, too. When he was in high school, the principal told him he had to shave off his afro or leave the school — so he transferred to a vocational school rather than comply.
By the time Larry had that first job, he was wondering whether a young black man could get a break from a society that had been dominated by racist white men. And then he needed to buy a car.
If we disrespect skilled trades, we’re ignorant and arrogant fools
Let’s quit trying to force others to choose our shopping preferences
Great ideas are valuable, but they’re worthless without solid execution
Nature made me like my mother, but my father tried to erase that
When does healthy love become nothing but unhealthy obsession?
Goodbye, Lucy (2012?-2025)
It’s when we create art — and create a better world — that we’re most like our Creator
What makes good science fiction? Aya Katz and I discuss ‘Podkayne’
As our heroes grow old and die, it’s a reminder of our mortality