...I'm sure every one of us has watched "Good Times" and laughed, cried (when James died), or scoffed at the outlandishness of J.J... But yesterday, I as I lay in bed watching the dynamic of the Evans family... I was touched... by 'James'.
NO!... Not by John Amos, the actor that PLAYED James Evans... but by the man or character that he was... In the episode that I was watching, James had been offered a place in the apprenticeship that would pay him more money that he'd ever made ( 4.20hrly). He was so excited to finally be able to do for his family that he dressed in his Sunday's best (or his 'goin' to a funeral clothes' as Florida called them), and ordered Florida to buy the best food, drink, and party favors that thier RENT MONEY could buy... 
To make a long story short, he got to the office only to find that a mistake in the computer caused them to show him 10 years younger than he actually was, and subsequently made him TOO OLD for the apprentice program... so he didn't get the job...
INSTEAD of going home and griping and whining about WOE IS ME and THE MAN IS KEEPING ME DOWN he proceeded to tell his wife... who then SUPPORTED him and told him as long as they had family, and they were happy, that they'd make it (I'll speak on this in a bit)... James found a side job to get the money that he'd wasted on the party... and that was that... SCUFFLED to make ends meet for his fam.
TO ME... James Evans is the epitome of what a black father should be. YES! He was BROKE ... but he provided for his family by ANY means necessary ( being a dishwasher, car wash attendant, etc). He held onto his role as a strong black patriarch of their family and ruled with a stern, yet loving hand. James is supportive of his wife and in turn, gets her support... If I find a James Evans... my search is over... period. Broke or not.
As for Florida in this episode, it showed me that we should recognize when our men are TRYING to do well... Let's praise and encourage them for what they're DOING and stop downing them for what they're NOT doing... I mean if they're TRULY trying to better themselves... let's be behind them :)
Aight...I'm off my James Evans High Horse
4 comments:
You are so right, men need to be more like him, and women need to recognize when they have a man that is doing all that he can!!
....OH SHIT!!!Look who's back.....
He is a good guy, they are hard to come by these days. :)
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Thanks
Ms T.
He was a damned good father........
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