Song of Solomon

 I read Toni Morrison's novel, Song of Solomon many years ago. When my son-in-law's nephew moved to Texas, he insisted I take a load of Chris' books. I did not want them. I donated to my building's library keeping two. Finally got around to reading his copy of Song of Solomon. 

I remember loving it first read. NOt so much this go round.  I could not say I would have known this quote came from this novel:

“How come it can’t fly no better than a chicken?’ Milkman asked.

Too much tail. All that jewelry weighs it down. Like vanity. Can’t nobody fly with all that [stuff]. Wanna fly, you got to give up the [stuff] that weighs you down.’

A quote from somewhere:She wanted to fly but got used to taking the train instead." Probably first read I was still getting rid of "jewelry" because I wanted to fly. I literally got used to taking the train instead of my preferred aero plane. Now-a-days "just trying to make it till coronary time." Or trying to get rid of stuff that weighs me down before coronary time. 

Okay, I am supposed to be talking about a book now. Sigh. 

I still run across a quote about Milkman: "If you surrender yourself to the air, you could ride it." Although my minds says "fly," not "ride." That too had meaning to me way back when.

"Lies should be simple like the truth. Excessive detail was excessive.

(propaganda: keep the lie simple, repeat it often, it becomes truth) 

*"It's about whether your children can make other children."

"Wasn't nothing to do. White folks didn't care, colored  folks didn't dare".

I found the story about Milkman and Hagar a bit boring.Pages describing her shopping trip. I guess that was to set a mood? Like Hurry Sundown, see what tomorrow will bring, describing a pregnant woman sweating, canning, only to lose it all, her work in vain. What I found interesting was the racism. Emmett Till mentioned. The barber shop guys judging the boy, bringing his northern way down here kind of thinking. Almost as if they thought Till deserved what was done to him.

*Cops killing black teen boys doing so to prevent them from procreating? I can not find the Malcolm X quote, something like, "for every one of us you take, we will take two of you." He explained it as being the way to talk to Mississippi people. If you turn the other cheek, you will appear to be weak.

They took away Till's chance to have children. George Zimmerman walks free after depriving right to life and children to Trayvon Martin.

Difference is, in today's world, "colored folks" dare.