The 80s

Whitewater Rafting

September 1981

Hannah and I promised each other that for this tour. The Dangerous Woman Tour. We would do dangerous things.

We were gonna bungee jump, ski, skydive, eat dinner with our families with the TV off. Just go wild. My mom said she would give me $100 for every thing that I did. But she wouldn't give me the money until after I did it because she wanted to make sure I actually did it.

I was cool with that as long as she did it with me. My mom is such a paradox, she likes rollercoasters but not planes. She says she's not scared of heights but she'll refuse to get on a plane. She knows that's the only way she can travel with me. Trying to get my momma on a plane is like fighting a bull. You'll get it eventually, but they'll put up a hell of a fight.

Anyways i'm currently in Chattanooga, Tennessee for a show, and I suggested to everyone that we go whitewater rafting. It's gonna be me, my mom, my best friend Hannah, and my bodyguard Victor. Victor offered to record everything. He said for us not to act, all of us be ourselves.

Before you can go white water rafting you have to drive a car to this bus and the bus will take you to the river. Thank to the lovely Hannah Lux Davis, we were late getting to the bus. She wanted to finish doing her makeup, why she was wearing makeup while we were about to get soaked I will never know. Her excuse was that it's "water proof".

We get on the bus and we notice that all the seats are taken except the ones in the back. Now we are the only black people in Chattanooga right now. I have been here for two days so far and I have yet to come across one melanated individual.

"Damn y'all still racist. Y'all got the black folks sittin' in the back like it's 1952." I snickered. "Come on now it's 1981"

Victor laughed with me, he was the only one that laughed with me. When we got to the back my mom grabbed my arm and pulled me in.

"We're in Klan land ok. Keep the jokes to yourself."

"But mama-"

"Jasmyn." she warned me, through gritted teeth.

I snapped my head forward. "Yes ma'am."

Out of nowhere the bus driver got up and pointed to us.

"You guys in the back, don't try to jump out that back window. It's park rangers out there and they will fire."

I knitted my brows and looked around. "Uh.." I raised my hand. "Where the fuck did that come from?"

My mom grabbed my hand and pulled it down, shushing me.

"No where the hell did that come from? Do say that to everybody or just the black passangers?"

Hannah slapped me on my thigh and shushed me again. "Girl if you don't stop bitchin' before you get us strung up in this sundown town."

"Alright whatever I ain't gon' say nothin' else." I sat back and crossed my arms with a huff.

My mom pulled my head to her chest, playing with my stray curls. "Calm down sista' soilder."

"Malcolm X would be ashamed of all y'all."

She snickered. "I'm still livin'." I gasped at her, she knew he was my hero. Bitch.

After what felt like the most uncomfortable bus ride I have ever had in all 16 years of my life, we finally got off the bus. They told us our instructor, our was named Lance we met him the day we signed up, would be waiting on us we would just have to find them. So we were looking around trying to find our person.