tle impatient with my questioning . He barely reacted .
“ What ? What do you mean he ’ s not coming back ?”
“ You ’ ll be okay .”
We walked to the restaurant with Jesse Owens . I was elated , but confused by Joe ’ s disappearance and my father ’ s nonchalance about it — although , my father was mysterious about lots of things . We knew he made good money , but we didn ’ t know what he did for a living . He would say something like , “ I ’ m a businessman .” A couple of years later , he was busted for mortgage fraud — that ’ s how we found out his occupation . He did a short stint in a minimum security prison .
At lunch I ordered my favorite : a club sandwich with chips , pickles , and a Coke . I think I had memorized all of Jesse ’ s times in high school , college , and the Olympics . When I asked him about Joe , he would say something general like , “ He was a good guy .” He didn ’ t offer up anything on Joe . We mostly talked about track , especially Jesse ’ s career . After lunch , we went by his room . We waited in the doorway as he grabbed two black-andwhite photos of himself wearing a suit very similar to the one he was wearing that day . He autographed both — one for me , one for my brother . My brother had been a lot quieter than I had been . He was still a little shy . After saying our goodbyes and thanking him , we went to my father ’ s room . We were so excited to show him the autographed photos .
He drove us back to our grandmother ’ s house . She lived about ten miles west of the beach , in Plantation . My brother , mother , and I had been staying with her and Joe since my parents had split a few months earlier , a couple of months before my twelfth birthday . My brother and I ended up encouraging my mother to leave my father . We wanted peace , and my father seemed unsatisfi ed with anything any of us did . We were tired of the arguments , and my mother was visibly unhappy , and I think she held back a lot in front of us .
That afternoon , my father explained to us that Joe left because he was embarrassed . When we asked why , he said Joe was trying to impress us by saying he was friends with a hero of ours . He asked us if Jesse Owens volunteered any information about Joe . When we asked what he meant by that , he said , “ Did he just say things like ‘ yes ,’ ‘ no ,’ or ‘ I really liked him ’— comments that were vague ?” Dad said that Joe had lied . He didn ’ t know Jesse Owens . I fi nally agreed that might have been the case . But how did Joe get the meeting in the fi rst place ?
Dad said that when Joe called to set up the lunch meeting , he said something like , “ Hey ,
Jesse Owens on the podium after winning the long jump at the 1936 Summer Olympics . L-R , Naoto Tajima , Owens , Lutz Long . photo by Ashley Inguanta
it ’ s Joe from college ,” and Jesse probably thought he ’ d met so many people in his life that he might be forgetting that guy Joe that he hung out with briefl y . In 1970 , it was easy to call a hotel switchboard and get through to someone famous . We fell silent . At that point , our father fi nally showed some compassion . “ He lied ,” Dad continued , “ because he really loves you guys , and he ’ s a fuck-up , and he thought he could shine , and in a way , he did .”
“ It was nice of Jesse Owens to meet us for lunch ,” my brother stated quietly .
“ Yes , that was very impressive , in twisted way . An amazing gesture , really . He didn ’ t have to do that . He didn ’ t know any of us before today . That ’ s why I went over to talk to him before lunch . I offered to get him off the hook . He said no . I told him to charge it to my room . He said no , he would buy you guys lunch . He knew the whole thing was important to you kids .”
When we pulled into the driveway , we all got out . We walked through the carport and back to the pool area in the backyard . Joe , Edee , and my mom were sitting poolside at the table they ate many meals at . They were all drinking beers . Joe and Edee were both smoking . Joe just looked down at the table , and mumbled something about getting tied up at the dry cleaners . My mother quickly changed the subject and asked us all if we wanted something to drink . My father said , “ No thanks .” We walked back out to the driveway to say goodbye to him . Dad turned to us right before he got the car and said , “ Hey , I think it would be a good idea if you didn ’ t bring up Jesse Owens around Joe . Don ’ t ask him where he went today . Okay ?” My brother and I both said okay . “ Hey , I love you guys .” Then , he hugged both of us and drove away .
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