Homecoming Weekend
Read Homecoming Weekend Online
Authors: Curtis Bunn
Dear Reader:
Homecoming weekends are extremely popular among historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) where alumni converge to celebrate with parties, football games, step shows and even steamy affairs. In
Homecoming Weekend,
Curtis Bunn visits his real-life alma mater, Norfolk State University, where characters throughout the country arrive in Norfolk, Virginia to connect with friends for good old-fashioned fun times.
The novel's annual fall tradition features a colorful cast of characters who are anxious to encounter their former crushes, check out their classmates' new looks or offer advice about life. I'm sure you will enjoy how Curtis uses humor to depict a behind-the-scenes weekend of college alumni and camaraderie.
As always, thanks for supporting the efforts of Strebor Books. We strive to bring you fresh, talented and ground-breaking authors that will help you escape reality when the daily stressors of life seem overwhelming. We appreciate the love and dedication of our readers. You can find all of our titles on the Internet at
www.zanestore.com
and you can find me on
Eroticanoir.com
(my personal site),
Facebook.com/AuthorZane
, or my online social network,
PlanetZane.org
Blessings,
Publisher
Strebor Books International
Chapter Three: On the Road Again
Chapter Four: Old Friends, New Relationship
Chapter Five: Let the Parties Begin
Chapter Six: The Old with the New
Chapter Nine: Smokey and the Bandits
Chapter Ten: May I Have Your Attention, Please?
Chapter Twelve: Displeasure In the Air
Chapter Thirteen: Do What You Know is Right
Chapter Fourteen: A Wild Night
Chapter Fifteen: Let the Chase Begin
Chapter Sixteen: The Tailgate, Part I
Chapter Seventeen: The Tailgate, Part II
Chapter Eighteen: Let the Games Begin
Chapter Nineteen: Happy Homecumming
Chapter Twenty-One: Eeenie Meenie Mynee . . . No
Chapter Twenty-Two: A Night not Remembered
Chapter Twenty-Three: It's Getting Hot in Here
Chapter Twenty-Four: Cold Truths
Chapter Twenty-Five: Chit Chats
Chapter Twenty-Six: Introducing . . .
Chapter Twenty-Seven: It's Going Down
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Bringing it Home
All Hail the HBCU Homecoming Experience
Historically Black Colleges and Universities
âA Cold Piece of Work' Excerpt
This book is dedicated to historically black colleges and universities in general and my beloved Norfolk State University in particular.
The nurturing of young minds and dispensing of knowledge and esteem HBCUs provide have laid and continue to lay the foundation of countless productive lives. Say it with me,
NSU Spartans:
Behold: The Green & Gold!!!
Nowhere. That's where I would be without God. I know He protects me, delivers me and inspires me in everything I do. And He surely provided the uplifting needed for me to complete this work. Thank you, Lord.
I have family that I covet, and I always start with my late father, Edward Earl Bunn, Sr.; he was the ultimate example of a hard-working family man that put family first in every case. My mother, Julia Bunn, has been the most supportive, giving, loving mom around. I love my brothers, Billy and Eddie and my sister, Tammy. My grandmother, Nettie Royster, remains our spiritual foundation.
Curtis Jr. and Gwendolyn (Bunny) are my talented and smart children that make me proud. My nephew, Gordon, has always been like a second son. And my niece, Tamayah (Bink Bink) and nephew Eddie Jr. are blessings that I love so much. My cousins, Greg Agnew and Warren Eggleston, are like my brothers, as well as my brother-in-law Deryk. And I am grateful for cousin Carolyn Keener and uncle Al and aunts Thelma and Barbara and Ms. Brenda Brown, who has been like an aunt/second mom much of my life.
So much love and respect go to Zane, Charmaine Roberts and the entire Strebor Books/Atria/Simon & Schuster family for the support and opportunity to make this book a joyful reality. I'm proud to be a part of the Strebor family.
There are not enough pages to document by name all the people who mean something to me. But I will start with my Norfolk State family that I love: Felita Sisco Rascoe, my NSU classmate and super-duper close friend I rediscovered last year; Kerry Muldrow, Keith Gibson, Randy Brown, Sam Myers, Tony (Kilroy) Hall, Tony Starks, Marc Davenport, Greg Willis, Ronnie Bagley, Brian White, Ronnie Akers, Jacques Walden, Dennis Wade, Julian Jackson, Mark Webb, Kelvin Lloyd, Frank Nelson, Hayward Horton, Mark Bartlett, Marvin Burch, Derrick (Nick Lambert), Gerald Mason, Charles E. Johnson, Harry Sykes, Kim Mosley, Patricia Easley, Gina Dorsey, Shelia Harrison, Demetress Graves, Leslie LeGrande, Bob White, Laura Carpenter, Erika and Tony Sisco, Kevin and Hope Jones, Sybil and Leroy Savage, Avis Easley, David A. Brown, Yvonne Young, Linda Vestal, Sharon Foster, Bruce Lee, Kent Davis, Kevin Davis, Rev. Hank Davis, Judge Susan Davis Widgenton, Kevin Widgenton, Donna Robinson, Sheila Wilson, Ramona Palmer, Derek T. Dingle, Leon H. Carter, Val Guilford, Curtis West, Darryl Robinson, Zack Withers, Joe Cosby, Warren Jones, Joe Alston, Deberah (Sparkle) Williams, Barbara Ray-Jackson, Anna Burch and Gail Patterson. Also, we lost some Spartans I really cared about and miss: Madinah Aziz, Ladina Stevens and Donnie Ebanks. RIP, friends.
I have been blessed with a vast and diverse group of friends that are important to me, including Najah Aziz, Trevor Nigel Lawrence, Wayne Ferguson, Darryl (DJ) Johnson, Betty Roby, Rick Eley, Christine Rudolph, Monica Harris Wade, Yetta Gipson, Denise Bethea, Betty Roby, Tara Ford Payne, Diana Joseph, Monya Bunch, Shelia Bryant, George Hughes, Serena Knight, Marty McNeal, Tamitrice Mitchell, Edward (Bat) Lewis, Kathy Brown, Angela Norwood, Angela Bass, Angie Jones, Carla Griffin, Darryl K. Washington, Lateefah Aziz, Jeff Stevenson, Derrick (Tinee) Muldrow,
Lyle V. Harris, Brad Corbin, J.B. Hill, William Mitchell, Carmen Carter, Lesley Hanesworth, Mary Knatt, Sonya Perry, E. Franklin Dudley, Skip Grimes, Sherline Tavernier, Denise Taylor, Jeri Byrom, Hadjii Hand, Laurie Hunt, Karen Shepherd, Clifford Benton, Rob Parker, Cliff Brown, Stephen A. Smith, Zain, D. Orlando Ledbetter, Michele Ship, Francine McCarley, Emma Harris, Garry Howard, Cindy Jackson, Billy Robinson, Jay Nichols, Ralph Howard, Paul Spencer, Jai Wilson, Garry Raines, Glen Robinson, Dwayne Gray, Jessica Ferguson, Carolyn Glover, David R. Squires, Kim Royster, Keela Starr, Mike Dean, Veda McNeal, Alvin Whitney, Pam Oliver, Kimberly Frelow, Karen Elaine Jones, Keisha Hutchinson, Penny Payne, Erin Sherrod, Tawana Turner-Green, Joan Hyatt, Joe Lewis, John Hughes, Sonji Robinson, Vonda Henderson, Natanyi Carter, Mark Lassiter, Shauna Tisdale, Quinn & Teeairra Motton, Tony Carter, Tamaira Thompson, LaToya Tokley, Necole Bobb, Claire Batiste, Olivia Alston, Brenda O'Bryant, Sheryl Williams Jones, Karen Faddis, Leticia McCoy, Dorothy (Dot) Harrell, John Hollis, Elaine Richardson, Aggie Nteta, Danny Anderson, Lakesha Williams, Leah Wilcox, Andre Aldridge, Ursula Renee, Marilyn Bibby, Brad Turner, Desyre Morgan, Billy Robinson, Denise Thomas, Camille York, D.D. Turner, Judith Greer, Anita Wilson, Tim Lewis, Carrie Haley, Dexter Santos, Ron Thomas, April Tarver, Michelle Lemon, Sandra Velazquez, Patricia Hale, Pam Cooper, Pargeet Wright, Regina Collins, Michelle Hixon, Sherrie Green, Jay Nichols, Regina Troy, Karen Turner, Deborah Tinsley, Christine Beatty, Angela Paige, Roland Louis, Dr. Yvonne Sanders-Butler, Deborah R. Johnson, Toni Tyrell, Tanecia Raphael, Tracie Andrews, Deborah Sharpe, Sheila Powe, Tammy Grier, Sid Tutani, Mike Christian and The Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, King of Akyem Abuakwa Eastern Region of Ghana, West Africa.
Special thanks and love to my great alma mater, Norfolk State University (Class of 1983); the brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha (especially the Notorious E Pi of Norfolk State); Ballou High School (Class of '79), ALL of Washington, D.C., especially Southeast.
I am also grateful to all the readers and book clubs that have supported my work over the years and to my many literary friends Nathan McCall, Carol Mackey, Linda Duggins, Karen Hunter, Troy Johnson and Terrie Williams.
I'm sure I left off some names; I ask your forgiveness. If you know me you know I'm getting older and subject to forgetfulness. J, I appreciate and am grateful for you.
Peace and blessings,
CURTIS
BUMPY ROAD
Jimmy and Monica
S
ometimes Jimmy hated his wife. Well, maybe not hated, but on occasion he certainly resented her and how she made him feel. At worst, she had a way of reducing their marriage, an institution he honored, to a prison stintâor some forsaken place he did not want to visit, like hell or the lingerie department at JCPenney.
In those times, he felt like getting into his car and driving off to no place in particular, just away from her, never bothering to look back.
After a while, those feelings would subside. But his anguish was not unfamiliar to any married person, some of whom had even more dramatic emotions than Jimmy's. Still, he believed being a loyal husband and committed father entitled him to some understanding and not the blow-torch heat Monica spewed.
On this day in particular, it ate at Jimmy like termites through damp wood.
He had waited an entire decade for this weekend.
It was homecoming.
Monica knew how excited he was about the tripâhe talked incessantly about how much he looked forward to going back to his old collegeâbut that did not stop her from filling Jimmy's head with exactly what it did not welcome.
He had the trip all planned. He was trying to get onto Interstate 95 South by noon so he could arrive before traffic built up at the tunnel between Hampton and Norfolk, Virginia around 3 o'clock. It was a solid three-hour, fifteen-minute drive from their home in Southeast Washington, D.C.âand that included time for him to stop downtown to get his customary road food: a half-smoke (a D.C. signature sausage) with mustard and onions, a box of Boston Baked Beans candy, pumpkin seeds and a Welch's grape soda.
Monica had other notions. She was sweet on occasion, needy at times and overbearing too often. This was one of her patented meltdowns that bothered Jimmy like that sound of the old record needle screeching across an album. When she acted as she did on this dayâstanding over him as he packed his bags, arms folded, mouth going, attitude funkyâit was a miserable existence for Jimmy. He didn't do drama well, and Monica was in straight Drama Queen mode.