"Bea, you gotta see this..."

This is one of those stories that may not be politically correct to tell, but I believe anyone could see the humor in it. Well, here goes. Who knows? It might elicit comments.

As I've mentioned, my dad was a longshoreman 'down at the docks' in Brooklyn for many years. However, there comes a time in a person's life when carrying 200 pound bags of coffee on your back, all day, takes its toll. Dad saw an opportunity in his late 40s (around 1970) to make a career change that would allow him to stay down at the piers, not lose his ILA (International Longshoreman's Association) union affiliation and would be far less taxing on his body. He could become "A Checker" one of the guys who tally up the cargo coming in and going out via ship and truck 'down at the docks'.

The union thing was big. Not only did it represent stable wages but also was the source for all our medical and dental care. The ILA had so many members that they had their own medical clinic downtown Brooklyn that occupied half a city block. After many years of shaping and struggling to make ends meet, after World War II, longshoremen were finally looked after by the ILA. Not that it was a perfect world, and there weren't questionable 'activities' revolving around the ILA, but the ILA definitely shared its clout with its members.

So dad became "A checker". He knew one or two of the other checkers already on the job but, mostly, he had to make all new buddies. This wasn't a problem for dad. He was always friendly, was always on good terms with everyone - even people he didn't like - and had a kind of open innocence that made people want to talk to him. In no time at all dad was part of the team.

One day at work, sometime in 1978, dad noticed a bunch of his buddies gathered around in a circle, enthusiastically discussing something. Words like "safari", "pyramids", "jungle" and "lions" wafted across the pier. Dad walked over and said, "What's up?"

One of the group replied, "Hi Artie. Well, we're getting a bunch of us together so we can get a group rate on a vacation tour package to Africa. It would be a 10-day guided tour starting off in Egypt and making its way down through the rest of Africa. And if we get enough guys together we'd get a really cheap price." Then he went on to discuss the cost and timing.

Dad replied, "That sounds like a great deal. You need any more for the group? My wife and I might be interested."

"Why... sure! I have some paperwork at home - brochures and such - I'll bring them in tomorrow, so you can take them home to talk it over with your wife."

"Thanks. That'd be great," dad said, then went back to work.

That night dad was very excited. At dinner, he couldn't contain his enthusiasm. "Bea, I'm telling you. It's a chance of a lifetime. Dave graduated college last year, so we finally have some money. I just got a raise. We're still young enough to travel and enjoy it... What do you say?"

Mom replied, "OK. Let's think about it. Bring home the brochures tomorrow night and... we'll see." Mom wasn't too keen on traveling to Africa but it was hard not to catch a dose of dad's excitement.

The next evening, dad came flying in the door after work, "Bea, you gotta see this. Look at these pictures... and there's an overnight cruise down the Nile river... It even includes a safari... not that I could ever shoot anything but just being there seeing wild beasts in their own environment... what a thrill. And it starts off in Egypt and... you know how I've always had a thing for the pyramids..."

Mom took the brochure from dad and began looking it over. "It does seem like a good price... But it says here that the tour will only be in Egypt for 2 days, would you be OK with that..?" Dad nodded that he would. "...the rest of the trip seems to be centered around central Africa... Around, you know... the jungles." Dad smiled and kept nodding. Mom smiled back. "Well... it does sound like a nice package..." then turned the brochure over to look at the back.

At this point, mom's smile expanded. I looked from her to dad and noticed dad noticing her expanding smile. The expression on his face indicated that he thought, 'I've got her!'

Mom kept looking at the back of the brochure and, still smiling, asked, "Hon... are any of the guys that you've been talking about this trip to.... black?"

Dad was a little taken aback. "Why should that matter?"

"I'm just curious."

"Well, let's see... the guy that brought the brochure in... He's black. And... well... one or two of the other guys are black too. But I don't see what you're getting at." Dad was starting to get a little indignant.

"Artie. Think about it... Were they all black?" asked mom.

"Well... I never thought about it... I guess... Now that you mention it... yeah. I guess they all are. How did you know?"

Mom held up the brochure and turned it around so Dad and I could see the back she had been looking at.

ROOTS '78 TOUR
Who are you?
Where do you come from?
Discover your Roots in Africa!

...and underneath was the black power symbol, which can be seen here on Ike Turner's sweater.

Someone was cashing in on the popularity of Alex Haley's book and the 12 hour television mini-series, of the same name, Roots, which had both come out in 1977, the year before.

There was a brief moment of total silence followed by an explosion of laughter. Talk about being where you don't belong - or are not wanted. But, credit to dad, and his friends at work, they never differentiated between him and them - or were just as uncomfortable about bringing up the matter as he might have been - if he had ever noticed.

Next day, dad brought the brochure back to his buddy at work and said, "Well... I don't think my wife and I can make this trip."

His buddy replied, "That's too bad, Artie. It would have been nice having you along."

And that was that.