𝙐𝙉𝙁𝙊𝙇𝘿𝙀𝘿, 𝘦. 𝘢𝘵𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴

𝙞𝙞. fated encounters

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fated encounters.
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The steel mills, in their heyday, served as a magnet for Indiana, drawing in many black men and families in need for jobs and better economic oppprtunities. The mills offered steady work, and higher wages, which were hard to come by in the south.

At 18 years old, my father had already been out of school, having not finishing the remainder of his senior year, and looking for work in one of the steel mills. With a growing three year old to support and a mother to help out, he had been determined to provide a stable income.

Joseph's early days at the mills were grueling. The long hours and physically demanding work left him exhausted at times, he didn't very well enjoy the long hours of lifting heavy materials and operating cranes and other machines just as much as the next teenage boy fresh out of high school.

But, like any other teenage boy, he found ways to keep himself distracted from the grueling work. He had taken up boxing and hanging with my uncle Luther and friends, attending parties, playing basket ball, and meeting new woman.

Back then, my father was like a walking chick magnet, he had women checking for him from left to right, which was something I could understand. My father was a very handsome man, his captivating gray eyes and smooth, copper-colored skin attracted females like a moth to a flame.

Despite his charming good looks and great mannerism, he didn't have many girlfriends, just women who took great interest in him. But, it was during this time that he'd meet a woman, fated to become the love of his life.

It was at something they called a "blue - light party" that he'd meet Katherine Scruse, a seventeen year old country girl from Clayton, Alabama. From what I've heard from Katherine and her book "My family, the Jacksons", she had saw him once before at a previous blue-light party but he hadn't noticed her.

But when he did, at the next party, they danced and talked with each other all night long. Katherine had opened up about herself and so did he. In one night, he had learned that she was born in Clayton, Alabama on May 4, 1930 as Kattie B. Screws and was the first born child to her parents, Prince Screws and Martha Upshaw. Her father later changed his surname to Scruse and Kattie was renamed Katherine Esther Scruse, though my father remained calling her Kattie as a nickname.

When she was just two years old, Katherine contracted polio, the same disease my late aunt Verna had. Katherine's polio left her with a noticeable limp, though I never paid much attention to it. Like my father, Katherine's parents had divorced when, she too, was a child. It affected her so much that she vowed to always remain married to her husband so that her own children wouldn't have to be raised in a broken home.

He also learned that she attended Washington high school and aspired to be a country singer, though her polio disease held her back from acheiving her dreams. After sharing only one night and conversation with each other, they seemed to already know so much about each other and it was then that I knew, that one night and conversation was enough for Joseph to know that Katherine was the girl for him.

But, unfortunetly for Katherine, my father had went off and married another woman: Isophine Atkinson. I had met her only twice before they got married. She was a sweet girl, beautiful and smart. My grandmother wasn't to thrilled about the marriage, but she wasn't mad at it either. Her son was a man who could now make his own decisions and mistakes; and though strict, she trusted him. But that didn't mean she didn't give him a few lectures.

Turns out, it seemed that my dad and Isophine weren't meant to be, because their marriage lasted less than a year. I assume he still had his heart set out on Katherine because that same christmas, he showed up to her home with gifts and me on his hip.