The city of Jouette, Maddocha bustled with
movement. Families traveled all over the city, going from place to place,
looking around, talking, and visiting with friends old and new. It was
Springtime. It was just cool enough for it to be comfortable. It was warm
enough for shorts and short sleeved shirts.
The flowers were growing,
colors bright, lining the city with a rainbow of color; red, orange, yellow,
green, blue, indigo, violet, pink, and turquoise. The trees were bright green,
vibrant, and in full bloom. Birds flew high and low, swooping and swaying,
filling the air with their melody songs. Birds of every type, each singing a
different song, but blending together in a Sprint time song, so beautiful that
it caused the listener to stop in their steps and take notice of the concert
the birds provided. Butterflies fluttered about, fascinating the onlookers with
their color and busyness.
Moms drug children by the arm
trying to keep them in check. The children were unwilling to go into the stores
that they were being pulled towards. Cute young ladies sashayed past handsome
young men in attempts to get the young men's attention. The young men ignored
the young ladies as best they could, but still caught one last glance as the
young ladies walked out of sight. The young men let their thoughts be known to
their boys about how each girl faired on a scale of one to ten. Loving couples
held hands as they walked cheerily down the sidewalk. Their love was evident to
everyone around them with each kiss, hug, and nuzzle. On lookers either frowned
in disgust or smiled with fond thoughts. Younger onlookers giggled as they
whisper to their friends how gross the adults looked. They couples did not seem
to care; it was Spring time and love was in the air.
Scantily clad women switched by
sexily, knowing full well that all eyes were on them. The men stared wildly,
secretly fantasizing what they would do behind closed doors. The women scowled
as they wished that lightening would strike causing the seducers to fall
directly into Hades. The vixens continued sauntering down the sidewalk. The
seductresses knew that the men wanted them and that the women wanted to be
them. They had trouble on their mind and they were intent on finding it.
Shop keepers were excited. this
was a high dollar weekend for them. People had been passing through the stores
in the downtown area all day, looking at suits of all colors and dresses of all
colors trimmed in sequins, rhinestones, silver, and gold. Church ladies tried
on big hats with long feathers and large bows. The mirrors worked overtime
showing everyone how great they looked. If you wanted to visit the city of
Jouette, this was the time to do it. Jouette was full of like in the Spring
time.
The city of Jouette was a
thriving city filled with families of all sizes, shapes, and colors. The city
boasted a population of over 1.1 million. Much of the population was under the
age of 25. The city catered to young families wanting to raise their children
in a safe environment.
Jouette began its journey in
1848 when Keviun and Jouette Chester traveled to the open space that was in
central Maddocha. They settled their and began raising their family. After two
years of being all alone, two other families joined them. The three families
became a community, working together to make each other’s lives better. Jouette
Chester saw the efforts of the families and asked her husband if they could
make the area that they were in a city. Keviun thought about it for a few days
and decided to do just that. The city was chartered in 1848. He would
eventually call the city Jouette, naming it after his wife.
Once word got out that Jouette
was thriving and growing, more families began to move to the area. After some
years, Keviun and the founding fathers of Jouette decreed that the city of
Jouette would always be a city for families. Laws would be passed to protect
the children of Jouette. To this day, the city of Jouette possesses the
strictest child molestation laws in the state of Maddocha.
The city of Jouette began to
grow by leaps and bounds in the late 50s. Increasingly merchants began moving
stores into the city because there were so many families in the area. The
population of the city doubled from 1955 to 1958. The zoning laws of the city
had to be changed due to all the noise that was being created by the stores. A
law was passed that no retail store could be within 400 feet of any
neighborhood. That decreased the amount of noise.
Jouette has one of the best
school districts in the state. The school district has been recognized several
times by the State Board of Education. Many of the students of the Jouette
Independent School District have graduated from school and gone on to be top
producing people in their field of expertise. Many of the families in the city
are made up of adults younger than thirty-five. The city has always been a
haven for young couples with children. The city caters to them offering some of
the best child care services in the state. Most of the people from the eight
surrounding cities live in Jouette and commute to work each day.
The houses in Jouette are
inviting. The people inside the houses were friendly. Children were able to
play outside without fear. At least they could play until 10:00 PM, that's when
they had to go back inside their house. The city had a curfew that was enforced
with great severity. On more than one occasion, a child had been escorted home
by a police officer and the parent fined for their child being out pass curfew.
It was a welcomed predicament for the parents because it kept their child safe,
but the teenagers hated the law. They could not stay out that late. No matter,
the children of Jouette could still have fun at any of the cities' outdoor
parks, malls, skating parks, golf parks, or swimming parks. Jouette was a place
for children to be children and have fun.
The city has a flourishing
green life because the Thursday River runs through the center of the city,
supplying the foliage with its much-needed nourishment. The landscape of
Jouette is beautifully designed and maintained by the city. At one of the main
parks in the city, visitors will find almost every flower known to man located
in the city garden. All the parks in the city of Jouette house a garden of some
type. The city is always stunning and fragrant in the Spring.
Jouette had the distinct
pleasure of being the mall capital of the state. The city was home to the most
malls in the city as well as the biggest mall in the city. There were malls of
all types in the city, from strip malls like the Hedrick Courts Mall to top
notch upscale malls like the Orchard Park Mall. The malls contained every store
that anyone could design. People traveled from all over the state to come to
the city of Jouette to visit its malls. The most popular mall was the Lake
Country Mall. It was also the largest mall in the state. Jouette was active
with people at its many malls looking for the perfect Easter outfit.
It was Easter weekend. People
were preparing a perfect Easter meal. Preachers were preparing powerful
Resurrection sermons that would cause any sinner to repent and come to Christ.
Mothers were scurrying around trying to find the prettiest ruffled dress for
their daughters. Children were smiling because they had two extra days off from
school due to the holiday. Office workers were debating the name that should be
used for the holiday, Easter, or Resurrection Day. Would the battle ever end?
It has been said that
Resurrection Day is the most important religious day of the Christian faith
because it is the day that Jesus rose form the dead. It was a day that many
people gave their life to Christ. In many African-American faiths, it was a
popular day for non-church going family members to go to church with their
families. It was a festive holiday filled with both secular and religious
festivities. The citizens of Jouette were not exempt from this celebration.
Stores displayed Easter bunnies as well as crosses. It was a combination that
confused many but made the store keepers happy with each sale that rang up.
The owner of RayRay's Men's
Store was particularly happy. Mr. Ray Johnson had made over $125,000 already
for the week. He smiled as he finished with the customer he had in front of
him. He handed Rev. Franklin the bag with the shoes in it and said, "Rev.
Franklin, your suit will be ready on Saturday by 10:00. You can come pick it up
then." Rev. Franklin nodded and responded, "Thank Ya, Doc. You know I
am gonna look bad in my suit. They ain't gonna be able to handle me." Both
men laughed as Rev. Franklin exited the store. Mr. Ray shook his head. If he
had a dollar for each time he had heard a man say how good he was going to look
after they had purchased a suit, he would be even happier and richer.
Mr. Ray's wife, Mrs. Udetta, as
she was called, was just as busy in her store, Udetta's. Her store boasted of
the best church lady's suits anywhere. She sold clothes to every pastor's wife
in the city and surrounding cities. Her web site was constantly receiving hits
as well as sales. Mrs. Udetta was showing a lime green suit to a voluptuous
woman. "Mrs. Udetta, this is the suit for me. You have got to have it in
my size. I want this suit right here," the woman declared. Mrs. Udetta
made a face. She was not going to be able to accommodate the woman because
there was only one lime green suit in the store and it was the one the woman
was holding in her hands. The suit that the woman held in her hands was a size
10. Mrs. Udetta was a miracle worker, but there was no way that she was going
to make a size 10 suit into a size 16. There was no way. Mrs. Udetta smiled at
the customer, "Sweetie, I wish I could help you, but this is the last suit
that we have like this. I have some other green suits that I can show
you." The full figured, dark-skinned woman huffed, "I want this suit!
Will you get any more in by Saturday?" The seasoned store owner blew a
breath, "No, sweetie, we will not be getting anything else in the store by
Saturday. What we have in the store right now is all we have." The
customer blew a long breath before she said, "Alright then, I guess you
gotta show me something else. I want something green, though!" Mrs. Udetta
laughed. She knew that the woman was going to look at something else. No woman
ever walked out of Udetta's without buying something, especially during
Resurrection Week.
Most people had their Easter
outfit or planned to get it by Friday. Friday was the absolute last day to get an
Easter outfit. If you did not get your outfit by Friday, you would probably
have to settle for whatever was left in the store, plus you would not be able
to get any alterations done so that the suit would fit flawlessly. That's what
Easter was all about, a flawless suit that out shined everyone else's suit.
Perhaps Easter was about a child saying their speech without hesitation and
stuttering after having practiced the entire week to get it perfect. No one can
say for sure what Easter is about, but Resurrection Day that was about
something different.
Resurrection Day was about
Jesus. The telling of His story, from His trial to His crucifixion and then to
His resurrection from a borrowed tomb was the focus. Services would be held all
over the city on Friday night retelling the Seven Last Sayings of Christ.
Younger preachers were given the chance to give their interpretation of the
last seven things that Jesus said before He died on the cross. The services
were more popular in the Pentecostal Church, but other denominations had begun
to have their own services. While some churches told of the seven last sayings
of Christ, other churches had pageants and plays telling the whole story of
Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. Some of the presentations were
elaborate, having experienced actors with long resumes of acting parts. Other
presentations were performed by youth that had dedicated themselves to putting
on the best show possible. No matter what the skill of the actors, the
presentations were meant to tell a story that would inspire, encourage,
enlightened, and reprove anyone who had an ear to listen. The events of the
weekend were set, and many people would come to Christ.
