Then she looked down at my hands and saw the shoes. "Junior, what are those?" she said. "Honey, I told you that we would have to wait." "Wait a minute Mama," I told her. "That man said I could have them." Mama looked around, "Man? What man?" I turned and pointed to where he was, but he was gone.
On a spring day in 1986, I was browsing in a thrift store located in southeast Houston. Having survived several economic shifts in the community, it was a brick structure with large windows that once housed a White's Auto Parts in a yet to be gentrified area of the city. It was here that I became captivated by this family. It was here that I met yet never spoke to Junior. Based on actual events, SHOES is the story of Junior, an 11-year-old African American boy from inner-city Houston. A kind, responsible and resilient young man, Junior overcomes the tragic loss of his father in a fire that destroyed their home and left him with burns that threatened his ability to ever walk again. From the friendship of the Williamson family, along the vivid and adventurous bus rides to "the store", SHOES is the tale of a young black boy, now thrust into the role of 'man of the house' navigating life with hope and optimism. Fatherless, physically challenged and with every reason in the world to give up, Junior will engage the readers as they become voyeurs and feel good as they witness 'the hood' through Junior's eyes. They'll see his village of support and will be genuinely uplifted by this young man whose courage and determination are far greater than his circumstances.
