If you want to just go straight to the short story, then here's the link.
https://ko-fi.com/post/The-Candy-Lady-L4L8MUAPR
I'm originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. I thought it was just in New Orleans, but there was a "Candy Lady" in many Black neighborhoods all over the country, from what I hear. I miss people being able to freely run their own businesses without government control or interference. Nowadays, there are narcissistic fake "Karens" & sellout snitches lurking around, waiting to tattle. I will make the setting of this story to be based in Houston, TX.
Here's a short story. Making me think of this story. Remember this?
Let's Buy Some 'Hood Snacks
on March 12, 2022
https://gangstalkedcreoleauthor.blogspot.com/2022/03/lets-buy-some-hood-snacks.html
& these 2.
No Timberwood In The Hood
on March 18, 2023
https://gangstalkedcreoleauthor.blogspot.com/2023/03/no-timberwood-in-hood.html
Do You Remember The Pound Cake Lady?
on January 26, 2023
https://gangstalkedcreoleauthor.blogspot.com/2023/01/do-you-remember-pound-cake-lady.html
Here's some hood history background of the neighborhood candy lady.
https://wearememphis.com/play/culture/sweet-lady-an-ode-to-the-candy-lady/#:~:text=A%20woman%20who%20was%20often,participate%20in%20the%20development%20of
Here's another person's short story.
Candy Lady: A Short in the MY LIFE ON DUKE Series
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/candy-lady-short-my-life-duke-series-kirk-williams
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School's out. Summer time. It's hot. 1995. 3rd Ward in Houston, TX. My grandmother's name is Katy Humble. I'm named after my grandmother! They call me "Lil' Kat". Me & my little brother, Curtis, stay by Granny Kat while my parents work during the day. Guess what. Granny Kat is the Candy Lady. She's also labeled as the "Community Grandma" & the "Church Grandma". They call her the "School Grandma" because she does custodial work during the school year, while she sells food during the summer. She makes more money from her summer side hustle than her school year job, but she loves both.
Me & my brother sometimes go around the neighborhood, putting out flyers & handing out business cards to notify everyone about the home store. We even help Granny Kat go shopping at wholesale stores & Sam's Club to buy bulk items to sell. Granny Kat rewards us for our help & our good behavior.
One day, my friends were playing double dutch. I wasn't supposed to play double dutch because Granny Kat had just got done braiding my hair. Curtis got a new S-Curl. Granny Kat told us not to sweat our hair out. It was so hot that day.
A boy who had a crush on me, Levar, kept chasing me with a big, fat, powerful water hose. He chased around all the girls he liked. He chased me around, & I kept laughing & yelling, "Stop! My grandmother doesn't want me to sweat my hair out. Stop!"
He said, "A little water won't hurt. Girl, be quiet!"
I said, "No, in all seriousness. My grandma is really strict. Please. Stop!"
He drenched me from head to toe, on purpose! I ran around screaming. I had to run home to Granny Kat. The clouds started getting dark. It didn't matter because I was already wet. Curtis told me, "Oooooh! I'm tellin'! Granny Kat said we're not supposed to get sweaty or wet." I told him it wasn't my fault. He looked confused. We had 10 more minutes to get back home. It started violently pouring rain, like nobody's business. We both inevitably got wet, anyway.
Levar got to the house before we did, buying snacks. By the time we actually got to the house, the rain had just stopped. We cooled off. Granny Kat was so busy that she didn't even notice that our hair was a little messy. We silently prayed that she wouldn't figure out & get mad. She never noticed.
A girl, named Yakira, kept asking my grandma thousands of questions. She was asking questions, like, "Do you give your grandkids free stuff? Can you be my grandma, too? If you were my grandma, would I get to get some free candy, too?"
Granny Kat had patience with Yakira. She gave Yakira a free small box of Mike & Ike & told her not to tell the other kids. Yakira kept that secret, in hopes to get free candy every time. Yakira cried because that was the only time she was allowed to have free candy. She never came back around again.
A 31-year old woman, named Willa Jean, who has 7 kids, took them to get some huckabucks (frozen cups), nachos, pickled eggs & boxed candy. Granny Kat takes food stamps. Willa Jean paid for the food with the stamps. When our Grandpa Roscoe heard her name, he started playing a cassette recording of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean", trying to be funny. Willa Jean took her children home to eat, & then she returned to our grandparents' house with some homemade chicken & waffles for the whole house. That was the best chicken & waffles I've ever had! Grandpa Roscoe thought that was a revenge prank. He thought it tasted so good that he was afraid that she was being cruel enough to poison him. But she killed him with kindness. The food wasn't poisoned, afterall.
Willa Jean was able to get out of poverty & start her own chicken & waffle restaurant, that was NOT Roscoe's House of Chicken & Waffles! She specialized in different flavors of chicken & Belgian waffles. You can have mint chocolate waffles with whipped cream & cherries, & ranch chicken strips. Or you can have bubble gum (using the same syrup that you use for snow cones) flavored waffles with Jamaican jerk wings. She was very creative. She even had some flavors, using the candy that Granny Kat sold. My favorite was the Chick-O-Stick waffles with honey mustard thighs. Grandpa Roscoe was a daily customer.
It's just about that time to go back to school again & buy our uniforms. Willa Jean's restaurant & my grandmother's home business helped people stick together & get along better. The news reported that there were no shootings for the entire summer, & that other crimes went down 87%.
THE END